Personnel of the Abra provincial police hold an assembly at Camp Col. Juan Villamor Calaba in Bangued, Abra on May 23, 2022 in this photo from the Abra Police Provincial Office Facebook page
MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Saturday said the nationwide crime rate between January to October 2023 went down by 8 percent against the same period last year.
The PNP recorded 31,864 crimes against persons and crimes against property in the first 10 months of 2023, which is 2,838 incidents lower than the same period last year, said Police Col. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson of the national police.
"We can attribute this sa paglalatag ng magandang seguridad nationwide," she said in a media forum in Quezon City.
"We can attribute this decrease to force multipliers, yung mga kababayan natin na nagbabantay sa mag komunidad, at yung mga kababayan natin na aware na sa kanilang personal security,” she also said.
Force multipliers include security guards and barangay watchmen who help the police maintain peace and order.
Despite the decrease in crimes, Fajardo urged the public to remain vigilant in the coming weeks as the PNP is anticipating a spike in crimes during the holiday season.
"The PNP is confident that we will be able to maintain the (downward) trend in cooperation with security forces,” she added.
She said police personnel have been ordered to maintain a proactive stance until the end of the holiday season to discourage crime.