PH’s peace, order situation improved under PRRD: PNP

MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar attributed the country’s vastly improved peace and order situation to the intensified police anti-criminality efforts and the relentless anti-drug campaign under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration.

While there are other factors that contributed to the significant decrease in crime in the past five years, Eleazar said the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs played a key role in it.

“Ang iligal na droga ang karaniwang ugat ng iba pang krimen kaya’t noong pinaigting ang kampanya laban dito ay mas naging ligtas ang ating mga komunidad at napawi ang pangamba ng ating mga kababayan na sila’y mabiktima ng mga kriminal (Illegal drugs are the root of other crimes so when we intensified our campaign against this menace, our communities got safer and our countrymen more secure. It also allayed the fears of our countrymen of falling prey to criminals),” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Eleazar echoed Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año’s remarks saying the peace and order have improved under the present administration.

During the pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Forum by the Participatory Governance Cluster on Friday, Año said the country’s volume went down to 193,103 in the first semester of this year from 292,589 during the second semester of 2016, the year when Duterte assumed the presidency.

Eleazar also recognized the Duterte administration’s full support to the police force, which includes providing better pay and benefits.

“The government’s full support to the PNP’s modernization program has enabled the police organization to procure assets to further boost our capability in our anti-criminality operations which is aimed at better serving and protecting the public,” Eleazar said.

Eleazar assured that the PNP would sustain its gains against criminality and continue to keep the communities safe. (