After apology, PNP insists Naga City has highest crime rate in PH in 2018

Rambo Talabong

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After apology, PNP insists Naga City has highest crime rate in PH in 2018
Ormoc City in Leyte has the lowest crime rate among cities across the country, Philippine National Police data show

MANILA, Philippines – After it retracted its claim that Naga City is ranked  5th in the Philippines among cities with the highest crime volume, the Philippine National Police (PNP) comes out with new numbers to back the claim of President Rorigo Duterte that the city is a shabu (methamphetamine) hotbed.

The PNP on Friday, August 25, released data showing Naga City with the highest average monthly crime rate (AMCR) among cities in the Philippines from January to July 2018.

The list covers 36 “chartered cities” or cities that have city police offices. Cities excluded from the list only have city police stations, which operate directly under provincial police offices. City police offices enjoy a certain level of independence.

What is the average monthly crime rate? The average monthly crime rate is the frequency of crime relative to the population of a locality over a certain period.

It is computed by dividing the number of reported crimes in a month by the population in an area. The result is then multiplied by 100,000. The crimes counted include index crimes (serious crimes prohibited across the country) and non-index crimes (crimes that are banned through special laws and local ordinances).

PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana said this is “more accurate” than crime volume, which just compares crime incidents between cities while disregarding their population differences. (READ: WRONG: ‘Naga top 5 city in crime volume’)

Cities with highest crime rates: Naga is trailed by Mandaue City in Cebu, Pasay in Metro Manila, and Iloilo.

The top 10 cities with the highest crime rates are still dominated by cities from Metro Manila, which is the most developed and most populated region in the country.

The others are Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Marikina, and Quezon City at 5th to 9th places, respectively.

National capital Manila placed 11th, followed by Cebu City  at 12th.

Cities with lowest crime rates: President Rodrigo Duterte’s bailiwick Davao City,  which is flaunted as the model anti-crime city in the country, is number 4 among cities with the lowest crime rate so far in 2018.

Ormoc City has the lowest crime rate in the Philippines. The city is an economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub in western Leyte.

Puerto Princesa and Angeles City – earlier mistakenly tagged by the PNP as 4th and 2nd among cities with the highest crime volume in the country – placed 3rd and 5th, respectively among cities with the lowest crime rates.

Why does crime rate matter? The PNP has long held that the crime rate, like the volume of crime, is directly proportional to drug proliferation.

This is based on the anecdotal evidence of cops that crimes are committed by drug addicts, and that crimes are masterminded by high-profile drug lords.

As the PNP has not gathered data on drug prevalence in the cities, the PNP can only cite crime statistics to support Duterte’s portrayal of Naga City – the hometown and bailiwick of Vice President Leni Robredo. The Vice President and Naga officials have refuted the President’s tirade.

The problem with crime rate: Crime rate, like crime volume, bundles up all crimes in its count, ignoring that some crimes are graver than others. This means that cities with low murder and homicide rates can garner higher crime rates by having high theft and robbery rates.

Unlike the monolithic crime rate, however, the PNP Public Information Office did not release the individual monthly rates for crimes like murder, homicide, theft, and robbery.

When reporters asked for the breakdown of the crime rate, they were asked to write a formal letter of request addressed to the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.