MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) contradicted senator Imee Marcos, asserting that the streets are safer now and there is a significant decline in crimes nationwide.
According to PNP’s Director for Police Community Relations, Police Major General Roderick Augustus Alba, the perceptions and concerns about the crime rate rising are not true.
“Sa amin po sa PNP, tuloy-tuloy lang po ang aming kampanya against all forms of lawlessness,” Alba said in a media briefing at Malacanang. “We stick with the reality — what we have now — iyong aming data.”
“Definitely. Of course, from time to time, mayroon tayong mga crimes na naging highly sensationalized na hindi kaagad ma-solve. But these are acted upon immediately and for us (they do) not represent the entire situation of our country,” he added.
Alba said the PNP’s evaluation is based on verified crime statistics, not public perception or political messaging. He reported that from January to April 2025, crime incidents dropped by 26 percent compared to the same period last year.
Alba’s “our streets are safe” came after Marcos described in her latest political advertisement that the state of the country is “black” due to high crime rate and hunger among Filipinos.
“We respect the perception of our communities. But we speak of our duties na dapat naming pinapatupad. We shouldn’t be affected by negativities kung mayroon man,” Alba said./PN
