Only 2.5% of homicide cases are drug-related, says PNP

Only 2.5 percent of the 15,911 homicide cases in the country are drug-related, the Philippine National Police said Thursday, amid criticisms that many of the killings are related to the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Senior Superintendent Benjamin Adelio Castillo, chief of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management's Case Monitoring Division, said that of the 15,911 homicide cases they recorded from July 1, 2016 to September 15, 2017, a total of 6,129 have already been resolved while 9,782 are still under investigation.

PNP: Only 2.5 percent of 15,911 homicide cases are drug-related, others due to argument, misunderstanding @gmanewsbreaking pic.twitter.com/88bhNikBSG

— Amita O. Legaspi (@amitalegaspi) September 28, 2017

Of the 6, 129 "resolved" cases, 3,475 are considered solved with the arrest of the suspect while 2,654 are cleared with suspect already identified.

Of the solved cases, 120 (or only 0.75 percent of 15,911) are drug-related, the PNP said.

Of the cleared cases, 278 (or only 1.74 percent of 15,911) are drug-related.

PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said they classified the cases into "drug-related" and "not drug-related" categories to show how few belong in the former.

“Kaya natin hiniwalay ang drug-related kasi pilit na sinasabi na itong mga homicide cases, itong mga pagpatay na ito, they term it as extrajudicial killings, related to the campaign against illegal drugs. Our record would show that the drug-related cases is only about [2.5] percent of all homicide cases nationwide,” he said.

Carlos said a case is considered drug-related if the motive is connected with illegal drugs.

"Ang motibo ay may connection sa droga. Napatay siya dahil hindi nakapag-remit ng sales, onsehan, dahil sa away sa droga, pinapatay siya para hindi na makapagturo o ni-liquidate nila para hindi na maituro na sila ang upline sa kanilang drug group," he said.

Carlos added that none of the suspects are police officers.

"Ang suspect dito ay hindi miyembro ng PNP," he said.

Rido and love triangles

Carlos said that the motives behind the rest of the killings include rifts, personal grudges, rido, and even love triangles.

Based on the PNP's records, 1,685 homicides are the result of heated arguments or misunderstandings; 1,273 are due to personal grudges; 84 are considered atrocities by threat groups; 69 are due to land disputes; and three are activist or media killings.

Asked if there is a possibility that some of the cases still under investigation might turn out to be drug-related, Carlos answered in the affirmative.

“Yes. But we have to resolve that. Baka mamaya doon sa remaining under investigation mas marami pa rin diyan ang personal grudge, love triangle. Kaya nga hangga’t hindi natin nade-determine ang motibo that is under investigation,” he said.

Carlos added that the data shows that the police are doing their job of investigating the incidents.

“So this is to show that there is progress in all these cases that are happening. Unang-una nareresolba natin itong mga homicide cases na ito kasi hindi po iniiwan, hindi tinitigilan ng PNP particularly ng investigation section and units sa iba’t ibang police stations sa buong Pilipinas na resolbahin itong mga kasong ito,” he said.

3,850 dead in police ops in same period

Carlos said the homicide cases they presented do not include those killed in police operations.

“Ito po ay krimen nagaganap sa lansangan,” he said.

According to the PNP spokesperson, 3,850 drug suspects died in police operations in the same period of July 1, 2016 to September 15, 2017.

He added that 85 police and soldiers have been killed in these operations while 204 have been critically wounded.

On Wednesday, the Social Weather Stations released the result of its 2017 Second Quarter study stating that 54 percent of Filipinos doubt that many of the drug suspects killed in police operations put up armed resistance ("nanlaban").

Carlos said they respect the survey.

“It’s a challenge for us to reach out and bring to the public the true and whole picture,” he said.

He said the police will do so by utilizing their social media platforms.

“Meron kaming Facebook account, Instagram, Telegram, Viber para mag-reach out sa publiko,” Carlos said. — BM, GMA News