MANILA, Philippines—The nine-month community quarantine prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic is being credited with a decline in crime volume but some experts expressed fear that the lockdown had aggravated abuses largely caused by restrictions on movement and scant resources.
Data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showed that the volume of what the PNP said was eight focus crimes nationwide had dropped by 45 percent during the 275 days of COVID-19 lockdown enforcement. These included murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, motorcycle theft and car theft.
The nation’s police force said only 27,442 crimes were recorded from March 17, during the early days of a st…
Keep on reading: As pandemic led to crime decline, it also gave rise to abuses