DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The low crime rates in Davao City in the past months are result of manipulation of statistics and inaccurate classification of cases, according to Davao Region’s Police Regional Office (PRO-11) Director General Nicolas Torre III.
Torre made this statement on Wednesday evening to reporters who went to his office in Camp Quntin Merecido, where he presented two “blue blotter books” from Calinan Police Station during a routine “blotter validation” his personnel conducted shortly after he assumed his post in PRO-11 since June 17.
Torre said the two blotter books for this year showed different entry reports, as one is said to be for record-keeping purposes, while the other appeared to be “sanitized” to display a significantly lower number of crime reports.
He cited an incident on March 4 which was reported in the blotter as “lost item” inside Beer Plaza which he said should have been classified as “theft”.
The regional director mentioned another discrepancy as the first logbook recorded 19 cases for the month of November 2023, including theft, robbery, and physical injuries, but the second logbook submitted to the Davao City Police Office only reported three cases for that month.
It was for this reason that Torre decided to relieve the 19 station commanders in Davao City last July 8.
“This is why I decided to relieve all police station commanders. They are not serving the people of Davao properly; the public deserves transparency in how police operate in their communities,” Torre told reporters.
The police director said this “record manipulation” impacts law enforcement on matters such as deployment of forces and intelligence gathering to go after suspects of crime.
The revelation affects the public perception of Davao City’s peace and order situation, which city officials have touted to be one of the safest not only in the country but in the world. It is an image of the city long crafted by former President Rodrigo Duterte during his years as mayor for three decades where he launched his war on drugs campaign which he later adopted during his presidency.
Dabawenyos interviewed by Davao Today said they are concerned about how this would affect police work to ensure peace and safety in Davao City.
Jun Minserol, age 37, suggests that the police should undergo reforms and be held accountable for these discrepancies.
He raises concern that the city’s reputation is tarnished. “This is going to be difficult,” he said in Bisaya, “maybe those who plan to visit our place may have second thoughts now.”
Some respondents, such as Dindo Risbo, age 43, believe politics between the Marcoses who are now criticized by the Dutertes play a factor in this issue.
“Davao is now in chaos. It’s all because of politics, and now someone will take advantage of this, the ending here is that we are all affected,” Risbo said.
“Those who have ill thoughts of committing crimes may do it now because they know the police are weak,” says Grace Lopez, 28. “That’s something to be afraid about, because we are used to walking around late at night here in Davao because we think this place is safe.”
Police spokespersons have assured the public in past interviews that the morale of the police force in Davao City remains high and that they are committed to securing peace in the city.
This, despite recent shakeups in DCPO, including the succession of appointing OIC police directors and replacing station commanders, which has irked City Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
Torre is also pursuing to revive old cases to prove the police force is serious in pursuing justice. These cases include last year’s murder of architect Vlance Marie Bragas in Calinan and the disappearance of Justine Mae Saldua, the house helper of Police Major Michael Uyanguren. (davaotoday.com)
davao city, Davao City Police Office, davao region
