MANILA, Philippines — After three months of full implementation of the “Safer Cities” initiative, the crimes rates have lowered, making the country fairly safer now, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday.
“The Philippines is safer now as compared to the previous periods,” PNP public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co said in an interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Friday.
“We understand that this is a small consolation if we don’t feel that crime rates are down. We see sensational cases happening, but in our statistics, crime is going down,” he added.
During an online forum of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) forum last Thursday, the PNP presented that focus crime rates across the country decreased by 20.6 percent from 9,506 cases from Jan. 6 to April 5; to 7,883 cases from April 6 to July 4.
Focus crimes are specific set of prevalent, serious crimes monitored to evaluate the overall peace and order situation in a community
Such crimes are theft; carnapping of motorcycles and motor vehicles; robbery; physical injury; rape; homicide; and murder.
“Why did it decrease? Because the would-be perpetrators were removed from the streets,” Co said during the online forum.
Launched last April 6, the Safer Cities initiative tasked law enforcers to implement stricter bans on drinking in public spaces; karaoke use beyond permitted hours; roaming the streets without shirts; and violations of curfews for minors.
