ACTING Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered all territorial police units, down to the city and municipal levels, to sustain recent gains in reducing criminal incidents across the country.
In a statement Friday, January 23, 2026, Nartatez stressed the need for regular crime monitoring to ensure strategic deployment of personnel and faster response under the Enhanced Managing Police Operations (Empo) strategy.
“Maintaining peace and order is not only our mandate. We owe it to the Filipino people in every community for them to feel safe and secure in their homes, in the streets, and everywhere they go,” Nartatez said.
“This is what we trained for, and this is what we must do,” he added.
PNP data showed that focus crimes declined by 12.4 percent in 2025, dropping to 35,717 incidents from 40,771 cases recorded in 2024.
Nartatez said the downward trend must be sustained in all cities and municipalities, particularly in major urban centers.
In Metro Manila, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) reported a 24 percent decline in crime incidents during the first 20 days of 2026.
To keep crime rates low, Nartatez underscored the importance of strict and regular monitoring of incidents to ensure prompt action and prevention.
He also called for increased police visibility and strategic deployment based on crime mapping, as well as closer coordination with local government units down to the barangay level to ensure coordinated preventive measures and quick response to any peace and order disturbance.
Nartatez said the PNP leadership continues to conduct on-the-ground assessments to determine and provide the necessary support systems to frontline units.
Earlier, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla commended the PNP’s ongoing reforms and cited improved public trust in the organization, noting that a recent survey showed trust ratings rising from 71 percent to 80 percent. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)