MANILA – Malacañang has insisted that the crime rate under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is lower despite some isolated incidents of kidnapping.
According to Presidential Communications Office undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro, the crime problem is being “sensationalized” because of the videos uploaded on social media by trolls.
“Itong sinasabing pagpapakalat na tumataas ang crime rate sa panahon ni Pangulong Marcos ay gawa-gawa ng troll,” Castro said in an interview with DZBB AM radio over the weekend.
“May mga pagkakataon na merong krimen, talagang nagaganap. Hindi perpekto ang ating mundo. Pero tandaan natin, itong kidnapping na ito, ito ay hindi masasabing isolated case pero hindi ito nagpapataas ng crime rate ng Pilipinas,” she added.
The brash-talking Palace official also urged the public not to believe what is being spread on social media platforms, cautioning against the intention to sow fear as statistics would refute the alleged rise in crimes.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the country’s overall crime rate declined by 26.76 percent, after recording 3,528 cases of focus crimes from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, lower than the 4,817 cases tallied in the same period last year.
The PNP said the kidnapping cases in the country also dropped in January, following the total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
From January 2024 to February 2025, the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group recorded 40 kidnapping cases, 10 of which involved Chinese nationals reportedly abducted by their compatriots./PN
