THE Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao noted that fewer crimes were reported to their police units amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
PRO Davao spokesperson Police Major Eudisan Gultiano said Monday, March 16, that following the stricter precautionary measures and community quarantine declared by some local government units in Davao Region, crime incidents in the region have gone down.
“So far, generally peaceful tayo. Wala masyadong reported incidents na major crimes, lalo na ngayon halos walang crime na nare-report sa amin,” Gultiano said.
(So far, we are generally peaceful. There are only few reported incidents of major crimes, especially now, there is almost no crime that has been reported to us.)
On Sunday, March 15, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio placed the entire city under community quarantine to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and maintain the negative case of the dreaded respiratory infection in the city.
Part of the community quarantine rules is the public is discouraged to go out of their home, especially if it is not necessary. The City Government also discouraged mass gatherings, and classes from kindergarten to post-graduate studies are suspended until after the state of public emergency has been lifted.
Also, all religious activities are suspended but government work should not be disrupted, while employees from other provinces may enter Davao City provided that necessary screening procedures are followed.
Private companies should prepare and implement a flexible work plan for their employees; people are required to procure services and buy goods online from local suppliers; and online meetings and bank transactions are also required and public transportation as well as cargo deliveries are allowed.
Health authorities likewise advised the public to observe social distancing.
Only a few people were sighted on the streets following the implementation of these policies.
Based on the PRO data for eight focused crimes, they recorded a total of 24 incidents from March 2 to 8 but it went down to 16 on March 9 to 15. Their record showed that physical injury topped the most number of incidents, followed by theft, murder, robbery, and rape.
Gultiano, meanwhile, said they are expecting for the figure to go down in the coming days.
“Even without the coronavirus, ang trend talaga pababa ang crime rate natin pero may malaki din factor itong coronavirus sa pagbaba ng incident nitong week na ito,” she said.
(Even without the coronavirus, the trend of our crime rate is really decreasing but there is also a big factor brought by the coronavirus in the decrease of incidents recorded this week.)