Consistent drop in crime rate indication of win in drug war – PNP

The biggest indication that the drug war is winning is the significant reduction in the country’s crime rate, a ranking police official said on Wednesday following the report of Vice President Leni Robredo that the campaign against illegal drugs is a failure.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, the Chief Directorial Staff of the PNP, said he saw for himself how the crime rate consistently dropped since July, 2016, when he was still assigned as director of the Quezon City Police District and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

"It cannot be disputed that there was a big decrease in crime in Metro Manila since July, 2016. The decrease in crime in the past three years even reached 58 percent," said Eleazar.

The official highlighted the importance of Metro Manila in the link between crime and illegal drugs since the country's capital serves as the picture of crime situation in the country.

Metro Manila is one of the favorite playing grounds of drug syndicates due to its big population and big consumers of drugs, mostly shabu.

From July, 2016, when the drug war was launched up to June, 2018, PNP data disclosed that there was a 21.5 percent decline in the crime rate compared to crime data from July, 2014, to June, 2016.

For 2018, there was a nine percent decrease in the crime volume compared to 2017. An average of three to five percent was also recorded in the first three quarters of 2019.

"This is a clear proof that President Duterte's drug war is winning. And we have been on the right path in the campaign against illegal drugs because the consistent decline in crime means continuous improvement in peace and order," Eleazar argued.

In highlighting the importance of peace and order in gauging the impact of the drug war, Eleazar noted some of the observations by the PNP leadership.

One of them, he said, is that most of the criminal acts committed are drug-related-- either the perpetrators are high on drugs when they committed rape or murder for instance or that those who engaged in robbery and snatching were doing it to have enough money to buy shabu.

He added that in a number of cases, some of the arrested or slain drug users and pushers were involved in multiple criminal cases.

"We should not also forget that it is the people in the barangay themselves who were saying that the peace and order situation in their community improved significantly because of the drug war.

“It is these people who are now saying that the drug pushers and users, who used to be neighborhood toughies, are now scared," said Eleazar.

Meanwhile, Vice President Leni Robredo is standing by her report that contains her findings and recommendations on the government’s drug war despite the objections of concerned agencies.

Refuting claims of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), Robredo said the data she used in the report came from these agencies.

“Kapag sinabi nilang mali iyong data ko, galing iyon sa kanila. Baka mas mabuti mag-usap-usap muna sila kung ano ba talaga (When they say the data is wrong, they should remember that it came from them. It would be better they should talk first on the real figures),” she said on Wednesday in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in Malate, Manila.

In a report to the nation on Monday, Robredo, the former ICAD cochair said the weekly consumption of “shabu” or crystal meth in the country was 3,000 kilograms, or about 156,000 kilos a year, citing data from the PNP Drug Enforcement Group or PDEG.

However, she noted the authorities had only seized a total of 3,182 kilos in the past three years. This translates to one percent of the total consumption of shabu in the country.

Robredo said the data she used in the report came from these agencies. (With a report from Raymund Antonio)