CHANGE never comes for most Filipinos after the number of those victimized in crimes against property increased and the number of drug addicts in communities steadied despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s vow to eradicate criminality, the latest Social Weather Survey said.
Malacañang, however, blamed the apparent rise on the police’s suspension of their anti-drug campaign that was only lifted following an internal cleansing within the ranks of the police.
The survey, conducted among 1,500 adult respondents, showed that the pieces of property lost to street robbery, burglars or carjackers in the past six months edged up to 6.3 percent, or an estimated 1.4 million families or 1.8 points above the record-low of 4.5 percent or about the 1 million recorded in December 2016.
Meanwhile, the Justice department on Monday filed a criminal complaint against an American-Korean suspected to be a drug supplier who escaped hospital detention days following his arrest in Pasay City on April 5.
Jun No, who uses the aliases Jazz and Justine, was arrested at the parking lot in front of Royal Indian Curry House along Seaside Boulevard near SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
The survey also saw an increase in the number of respondents saying their family members suffered from physical violence in the past six months at 0.7 percent (estimated 155,000 families), flat from December (166,000 families) and September (162,000 families) last year.
Those victimized by common crimes steadied in the last three quarters, or 6.8 percent or equivalent to 1.6 million families.
Those who fell prey to street robbers in the last quarter also increased to 5.3 percent or 1.2 million families compared with December’s 3.3 percent.
SWS noted that despite official figures, “victimization by common crimes reported in SWS surveys is much higher than the number of crimes actually reported.”
In the same survey, those who said that they experienced carjackings rose most in Metro Manila, and by 2.3 points to 3.4 percent, the highest since September 2014’s 3.5 percent.
Respondents in the Visayas said they had no such experience during the survey period.
Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said the increase in the crime incidence was due to the suspension in the police’s anti-drug efforts.
“The First Quarter 2017 Social Weather Stations survey saying 6.3 percent of families lost property to street robbery, burglars or carjackers within the past six months validates earlier reports showing an increase in crime after the Philippine National Police suspended Oplan Tokhang and Project Double Barrel last January,” Abella said.
“The temporary suspension of police anti-drug operations proved to be a window of opportunity for illegal drug violators to engage in burglary and car theft.”
President Rodrigo Duterte pulled out the PNP from the drug war after South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo was taken from his house and killed inside Camp Crame.
The PNP rejoined the drug war on March 6 on the orders of Duterte and relaunched Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded. With Joel E. Zurbano
