Palace to former president Duterte: Crimes are down

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday refuted claims made by former President Rodrigo Duterte that crimes have become more rampant in the country.

The 79-year-old former leader, who faced the Senate inquiry on his administration's war on drugs, claimed that «drug-related crimes are on the rise again» and that «purveyors of this menace are back in business.»

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin however said that data from authorities «showed the complete opposite.»

«With due respect to former President Rodrigo Duterte, there is no truth to his statement that crime remains rampant in the country. Statistics from the Philippine National Police show the complete opposite. There has been a widespread decline in crime across the board,» Bersamin said in a statement.

«Moreover, we have achieved stability and maintained peace and order in our country without foregoing due process nor setting aside the basic human rights of any Filipino,» he added.

Bersamin said that the recent drug raid near the Palace complex in San Miguel, Manila which Duterte mentioned, was ''based on an outdated information.''

''In that case, one suspect was arrested, drug paraphernalia was seized, and his partner is now being pursued by law enforcement,'' the Palace executive said.

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«All of this shows that our country is safer, our people more secure, and our future more assured than ever before under the stewardship of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,» he added.

Bersamin's pronouncements were echoed by the Department of Justice.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla denied that «the end of the previous administration's War on Drugs in 2022 has allowed criminal elements to resurface.»

Remulla cited PNP data that crimes from July 1, 2022, to January 31, 2024 plummeted to 324,368, representing a 10.66 percent decrease from the 363,075 crimes recorded between December 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022.

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Moreover, seven out of eight focus crimes have seen significant declines, including a reduction in rape (11.08 percent), physical injury (10.59 percent), robbery (2.26 percent), murder (10.17 percent), carnapping (23.27 percent), and homicide (0.91 percent).

Only cases of theft saw an