More city execs dispute PNP crime rate report

BUSINESS CENTER Olongapo, a highly urbanized city that used to be a fishing village in Zambales, attracts migrants due to opportunities it offers as one of the business centers of Central Luzon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Maybe the PNP chief made a mistake about Olongapo, too Rolen Paulino
Olongapo City Mayor

Olongapo City Mayor Rolen Paulino on Monday disputed an assertion made recently by Director General Oscar Albayalde, Philippine National Police chief, that the city was a “hotbed” of illegal drugs.

“Olongapo is the second most peaceful place in the country and that is backed with figures from no less than PNP Region 3 (Central Luzon),” Paulino said in a statement.

Citing records, he said Olongapo recorded 189 crimes from Jan. 1 to Aug. 19. The same records showed Olongapo was the second-ranking city with a high crime solution efficiency, computed at 55.03 percent, against top-ranking Bataan province (60.87 percent) and third placer Bulacan province (52.95 percent).

On Sunday, Senior Supt. Benigno Durana apologized and took responsibility for the error when Albayalde identified Naga City, the hometown of Vice President Leni Robredo, as the fifth top crime-prone city in the country.

Another mistake?

“Maybe the PNP chief made a mistake about Olongapo, too,” Paulino said. “The damage has been done. We hope the PNP makes the correction as soon as possible,” he said.

Angeles City in Pampanga province has been cited by the PNP as the fifth most peaceful city in the country, reversing its earlier report listing it among the top five cities with the highest crime and drug incidence.

In a statement, the PNP said Angeles had the lowest crime rate at 27.10, after Davao City at 25.96 percent. The other cities in the top five are Ormoc, Cotabato and Puerto Princesa.

“I am relieved that the PNP immediately corrected itself because figures of the local police say otherwise. According to ground reports collated by PNP Angeles, our city in fact had fewer crime and drug cases compared to previous years,” said Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan.

Drop

Citing police reports, Pamintuan said index crimes dropped from 1,019 in 2016 to 795 in 2017, and dropped further to 324 cases in July this year. From July 2017 to July 2018, murder cases were down by 22.22 percent while robbery cases dropped to 31.45 percent.

Drug-related cases and arrests were also declining, the mayor said, from 322 cases and 517 arrests in 2016 to 159 cases and 283 arrests from January to July 2018.

Population size

“We should in fact congratulate our local police and barangay officials for being more vigilant against crime and illegal drugs,” Pamintuan said, adding that Angeles had been cited by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the PNP for its antidrug programs.

In Naga City, the police backed their national headquarters’ decision to include the city among those with high crime rates for January to July 2018, saying it was because of the population size.

Data released on Friday showed Naga had an average monthly crime rate of 202.80 during the first half of the year, which was the highest among cities.

SPO2 Tobias Bongon, Naga police spokesperson, said the formula for calculating the crime rate had drawn many questions because the city, with a population of 200,000, had a much larger crime rate compared to cities or towns with the more significant population.

Crime volume

“Considering that Naga’s day population increases to around 600,000 people, some of the crimes that we record could actually be victimizing nonresidents,” he said.

But he said a high monthly crime rate did not mean a high crime volume.

Crime rate refers to the number of crime victims per 100,000 people in a given locality. A crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population. The result is multiplied by 100,000.

It should not be mistaken for the total crime volume or crimes recorded in a particular period in a specific area, which are compared to crimes in other cities or towns without factoring in their population sizes.

“So despite the high crime rate, Naga has a low crime volume,” Bongon said. —REPORTS FROM JOANNA AGLIBOT, TONETTE OREJAS, SHIENA BARRAMEDA AND STEPHANIE FLORIDA