Crime in The Philippines - Statistics & Facts: Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 6, 2021
Crime in The Philippines - Statistics & Facts: Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 6, 2021
Crime in The Philippines - Statistics & Facts: Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 6, 2021
Intro:
Crime is present in various forms in the Philippines, and remains a serious issue throughout the
country. Illegal drug trade, human trafficking, arms trafficking, murder, corruption and domestic
violence remain significant concerns.
Murder In 2014, the Philippines had a murder rate of 9.84 per 100,000 people, with a number of 9,784
recorded cases. The country also has the highest rate of murder cases in Southeast Asia in 2013, with a
rate of 8.8, followed by Thailand. The murder rate in the Philippines reached its peak in 2002 and 2010,
with rates of 6,553 cases and 8,894 cases. Organized crime Organized crime in the Philippines can be
linked to certain families or barkadas groups who perpetrate crimes ranging from extortion, sale of illegal
narcotics and loan sharking to robbery, kidnapping, and murder-for-hire.
Illegal drug trade is a major concern in the Philippines. Meth "shabu" and marijuana "weeds" or "damo" are
the most common drugs accounting most drug-related arrests. Most of the illegal drug trade involved
members of large Chinese triad groups operating in the Philippines, owing to its location on drug smuggling
routes.
Petty crime which in to withdraw cash after dark is a risk, especially for foreigners.
cludes pick-pocketing, is a problem in the Philippines. It takes place usually in locations with many people,
ranging from shopping hubs to churches. Traveling alone to withdraw cash after dark is a risk, especially for
foreigners.
Prison system
With high rates of criminality and limited prison capacity, prison facilities across the country have long been
faced with overcrowding issues, in which most inmates were serving sentences without conviction. As of
May 2021, there were over 117 thousand prisoners in just 40 prison facilities nationwide. The country’s
prison situation was also characterized by high death tolls, with the total tally reaching about 1,100 in 2020.
Intro:
Last month, the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) completed a review into 52 deaths during
police anti-drug operations (Manila Bulletin, 3 October 2021), concluding that criminal charges ought to
be levied against 154 police officers (Reuters, 4 October 2021). This marks a rare admission by the
Philippine state that it may be complicit in abuses stemming from the war on drugs — which continues
to rage on. While the 52 deaths under investigation represent a very small fraction of drug war
fatalities, the justice minister announced last month that the DOJ will now look into thousands of other
killings that have resulted from anti-drug operations (Reuters, 20 October 2021). Following the
announcement, President Rodrigo Duterte stated his admission of full responsibility for the drug war,
though “maintained he will never be tried by an international court” (Reuters, 21 October 2021). His
comments came as the judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) approved a formal investigation
into possible crimes against humanity committed under his leadership (Reuters, 15 September 2021).
The government admits that over 6,000 killings have occurred during police operations in association
with the drug war. Many officers, however, have already been absolved of any wrongdoing in those
incidents during internal police investigations. While the DOJ’s plan to review these killings is a
welcome step for many victims’ families, analysis of new ACLED data finds that the civilian toll of the
war on drugs, perpetrated by the state and its supporters, is much higher than the official figures
suggest: at least 7,742 Philippine civilians1 have been killed in anti-drug operations since 2016, 25%
higher than the government’s count, even by a conservative estimate.2
While the overall rate of violence has declined since the height of the drug war in 2016, when Duterte
first took office, there have been important changes in trends, including a shift in the primary
perpetrators of the war, as well as the geography of violence.
Anti-drug ‘vigilantes’ — largely assumed to have links to the Philippine security infrastructure — were
responsible for nearly half, over 48%, of civilian targeting during the early days of the drug war in 2016.
Since 2020, however, there has been an upward trend in the proportion of state involvement in drug
war violence.
The Philippine state has taken an increasingly large role in targeting civilians itself, no longer trying to
create distance by ‘outsourcing’ the majority of violence to vigilantes. So far in 2021, state forces have
accounted for 80% of civilian targeting in the drug war. The shift appears to be driven by increased
scrutiny around vigilantes by the media and international community, as well as dynamics around
competing state priorities as the government fights other wars along multiple fronts.
The geography of violence too has shifted, from Metro Manila to Central Luzon, initially coinciding with
the reassignment of top police officials from the former to the latter (Rappler, 24 February 2019). More
recently, new frontiers have emerged within Central Luzon, with violence shifting from Bulacan
province to Nueva Ecija province — now the epicenter of the drug war — as police in Central Luzon
continue to be rewarded by the Duterte administration.
These trends, coupled with Duterte’s own admission of culpability last month, underscore the need for
an independent investigation into crimes against humanity — especially as the war continues to not
only rage on, but also to diffuse beyond Metro Manila.
Human Rights Watch research has found that police are falsifying evidence to justify the unlawful killings.
Despite growing calls for an investigation, Duterte has vowed to continue the campaign.
Large-scale extrajudicial violence as a crime solution was a marker of Duterte’s 22-year tenure as mayor of
Davao City and the cornerstone of his presidential campaign. On the eve of his May 9, 2016 election
victory, Duterte told a crowd of more than 300,000: “If I make it to the presidential palace I will do just what I
did as mayor. You drug pushers, holdup men, and do-nothings, you better get out because I'll kill you.”
https://www.hrw.org/tag/philippines-war-drugs
BONG GO
According to this article in April 2019, a series of videos linking Dutertes’s family members
and close aide to illegal drug trade. In one of the videos, an individual called “Bikoy”
claimed that Go – is allegedely one of the big bosses in a drug syndicate – owns four local
bank accounts into which drug money is funneled using the codename “TESOROGOLF-
TSG002”. He pointed out the full name of Christoper Lawrence “Bong” Tesoro Go.
“Bikoy” who claimed to be a formere record keeper of a drug syndicate operating in
Southern Luzon and Visayas, said that Go has a dragon tattoo on his back that bears the
alphanumeric code “COATLIBRA-0018” from the drug transactions. The video raised the
issue that Go is using drug money to fund this senatorial campaign.
Go denied the accusations of him having the dragon tattoo and being involved in a drug
ring. As he will never get involved in illegal drugs considering his former boss also hate
drugs. Later Malacañang dismissed the allegations as “pure and simple black
propaganda”.