Crime in the Philippines reduced by more than 60 percent in the past five years, with the Philippine National Police (PNP) attributing it to the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs which was started when President Duterte took over the country's leadership in July 2016.
In a statement released on Saturday, July 17, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the recorded decrease in crime volume in the five years of the Duterte administration was both more than 60 percent if compared with the first five years of his predecessor and last five years of the past administration.
"Sa kabila ng mga kritisismo at sari-saring alegasyon, hindi maipag-kakaila na mas gumanda ang peace and order situation sa ating bansa. Hindi ito sabi-sabi o gawa-gawa lamang dahil ang inyong PNP ay may mga datos na nagpapakitang mahigit sa 60 porsyento ang ibinababa ng krimen sa nakalipas na limang taon (Despite all the criticisms and allegations, it cannot be denied that the peace and order in the country has improved. This is not fabricated because the PNP has data showing that there was more than 60 percent reduction in crime in the last five years," said Eleazar.
While there are other factors that contribute to the significant decrease in crime in the past five years, Eleazar stressed that the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs played a key role in it.
Critics have been lashing out at Duterte for failure to fulfil his promise of ending illegal drugs problem in the country in the first three to six months of his administration. The drug war itself was tainted with allegations of human rights violations and brutal and extra-judicial killings.
But Eleazar said illegal drugs is one of the major root causes of all other criminal activities, even as he denied the allegations of human rights violations.
To erase doubts on the conduct of drug war, Eleazar facilitated the early distribution of body-worn cameras for operating policemen and even worked with the Supreme Court for a legal framework that would be used by the PNP in using body cameras.
Eleazar's statement came after Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said the peace and order has improved under the present administration. The statement was in reaction to the questions on assessment of the five years of the Duterte administration.
Año said there was a lower crime volume in the first semester of 2021 compared to the record in the second semester of 2016, the year when President Rodrigo Roa Duterte assumed the Presidency.