Marcos Jr.’s claims on diminished crime rates and better crime solution efficiency under his administration are backed by official numbers.
CLAIM: President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration saw a decrease in the crime rate and an increase in the percentage of solved crimes.
RATING: True
In his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. touted improved crime statistics since he assumed office.
“We have noted an overall decrease in crime rate and an improvement in crime-solution efficiency,” he said.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government have reported lower crime rates under the Marcos Jr. presidency.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos reported in April that the number of index crimes, or those committed against persons and property, from July 1, 2022 to April 21, 2024 stood at 71,544.
This was a significant drop from the 196,619 index crimes recorded from July 1, 2016, to April 21, 2018, during the first 21 months of the Duterte administration.
Even the number of focus crimes like theft, physical injury, robbery, rape, murder, carnapping, and homicide saw a sharp 63.79-percent decline to 71,133 from 196,420.
The average monthly crime rate during the same period went down to 15.04 percent from 21.92 percent, according to Abalos.
Crime solution efficiency improved to 82.69 percent between January 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, which was 0.62 percent higher than the PNP numbers from October 2021 to December 2022.
Marcos Jr. however pointed out in his address that the improved statistics were “not enough” since “our law enforcers need to earn the trust of our people.” Amanda Luella A. Rivera
