Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. (File photo: PNP)
Index crimes that include murder and robbery went down by 12.4 percent nationwide in 2025 compared to 2024, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Saturday, Jan. 3.
Aside from murder and robbery, index or focus crimes include homicide, rape and physical injury, theft, carnapping and motorcycle theft.
From 40,771 incidents in 2024, Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. said the figure went down to 35,717 last year based on the report from the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM).
“These gains were achieved through consistent implementation of crime prevention and law enforcement strategies on the ground,” said Nartatez.
Based on the same data, cases of rape registered the highest decrease with 22.68 percent, or from 9,910 cases in 2024 to 7,662 in 2025; followed by carnapping of motor vehicles, which declined by 20.18 percent, from 332 to 265 incidents.
On the other hand, murder cases were down by 17.80 percent, or from 4,151 cases to 3,412, while homicide dropped by 14.98 percent, from 1,268 to 1,078 incidents.
Physical Injury cases also went down by 13.98 percent, declining from 5,593 to 4,811, and robbery fell by 11.87 percent, from 4,136 to 3,645 cases. Meanwhile, theft recorded a 4.31 percent decrease, from 13,232 cases in 2024 to 12,662 in 2025.
A comparison of two equal 128-day periods in 2025 further shows a sustained downward trend in crime, with incidents decreasing by 11.64 percent, from 13,307 cases recorded between April 19 and August 25 to 11,758 cases from August 26 to December 31, or 1,549 fewer incidents as of January 2, 2026.