SOME 5.3 percent or an estimated 1.2 million Filipino families have fallen victims to various crimes in the past six months, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed in its latest survey.
The survey, conducted from June 27 to 30, showed that the number of families who have been victimized by common crimes fell by 1.3 percentage points from March's 6.6 percent or an estimated 1.5 million.
The latest figure was also the lowest since the record-low 3.7 percent in June 2017, the SWS noted.
The survey showed that about 5.1 percent or an estimated 1.2 million Filipino families were victimized by street robbery, burglary, or car theft, down by one percentage point than the 6.1 percent or an estimated 1.4 million in March and the lowest since the record-low 3.1 percent in June 2017.
About 1.8 percent or 431,000 families were victimized by burglary; 0.5 percent or around 52,000 by robbery; and four percent or estimated 930,000 by street robbery in the past six months.
The June poll found that 55 percent of Filipino adults feared that burglars might break into their houses.
Around 46 percent were also afraid to walk in “unsafe” streets at night, while 41 percent expressed fear over the presence of reported drug addicts in their areas.
The SWS also noted that about 0.2 percent or an estimated 45,000 families were hurt by physical violence in the past six months, about 0.4 percentage point below than the 0.6 percent or estimated 145,000 recorded in March.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the government welcomed the latest poll results, which showed a significant drop in the number of families who are victims of crimes.
“Bumaba pa po ang numero ng krimen at ang taumbayan na mismo ang nagsasabi nito (The number of crime cases have declined and our countrymen can attest to it),” the Palace official said.
“We welcome the good news that property crime, or crime that includes street robbery, burglars/break-ins, carnapping, and others,” 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)