Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) recorded a 22.84-percent drop in eight crimes across Western Visayas from May 22 to Aug. 22, compared with the same period last year, police officials reported on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
According to comparative crime data released by PRO6, total incidents among the eight focus crimes fell to 385 this year, down by 114 from the 499 incidents recorded during the same three-month period in 2025.
PRO6 reported declines across nearly all focus crime categories, except motor vehicle theft, which logged a single incident during the period.
The largest decrease was recorded in motorcycle theft, which dropped by 65%, from 20 cases in 2025 to seven in 2026.
Rape cases recorded a notable 55.56% reduction, declining from 126 cases to 56. Murder incidents dropped by 21.21%, from 33 to 26, while robbery cases fell by 18%, from 50 to 41 incidents.
Provinces throughout the region similarly registered reductions in focus crimes, pointing to a sustained impact of ongoing law enforcement strategies across Western Visayas.
Police Brigadier General Randulf Tuaño, PRO6 director, attributed the positive development to intensified police presence, intelligence-led operations, rapid incident response times, and strengthened community partnerships.
‘The decrease in crime is not merely numbers on our records. It is a concrete result of the collective effort of our police officers and the active cooperation of our communities,’ Tuaño said in a statement.
‘However, we must not become complacent. We will continue to focus on crimes that remain a challenge and intensify our measures to keep our citizens safe,’ he added.
Tuaño emphasized that sustaining low crime figures requires continuous police presence, proactive crime prevention, strategic intelligence gathering, and robust public cooperation.
‘The true measure of a safe community is not just the drop in crime figures, but the public’s confidence that police officers are ready to respond, listen, and act,’ Tuaño noted.
Despite the downward trend in criminal activity, PRO6 affirmed that it will continue enhancing its crime prevention and control operations, public visibility, and community outreach efforts to deter potential offenses.