SIX of every 100 Filipinos fell victim to various crimes in the past six months while four out of 10 fear the presence of drug users, the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.
The results of the March 23 to 27 poll, which were released Thursday, June 21, also showed that two to three out of 10 Filipinos, or 26 percent, are afraid to walk on unsafe streets while half, or 54 percent, fear that burglars might break into their homes.
The survey showed that 6.6 percent, or an estimated 1.5 million Filipino families, were victims of street robbery, burglary, or car theft.
The number is a percentage point lower than the 7.6 percent (1.6 million families) in December 2017, but higher by 0.5 percentage point than the 6.1 percent (1.4 million families) annual average for 2017.
About 2.2 percent or 516,000 families were victimized by burglary; 0.5 percent or around 51,000 by robbery; and 4.6 percent or estimated 1.1 million by street robbery in the past six months.
The SWS also showed that about 0.6 percent or an estimated 145,000 families were hurt by physical violence in the past six months, similar to 0.6 percent or estimated 149,000 recorded in June 2017 but 0.2 percentage-point below than 0.8 percent or estimated 188,000 registered in December 2017.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the government welcomed the latest SWS results, which showed a decline in the number of families who have fallen victims to crimes within the past six months.
"Indeed, significant strides have been made in our campaign against illegal drugs and crimes as families reported fewer break-ins and carnapping. Fear of burglary, fear of unsafe streets and presence of drug addicts in the neighbourhood had likewise dropped as disclosed by respondents," Roque said.
"Such public sentiment is certainly a big boost to the morale of our law enforcement agencies as we vow to continue to ensure the safety of all Filipinos," he added.
The SWS interviewed 1,200 adult respondents using sampling error margins of ±2.5 percentage points for national percentages, and ±6 percentage points each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines)