Philippine crime volume down by 9.8 pct in July as drug suspects killed reach almost 600

The Philippine crime volume fell by 9.8 percent year-on-year in July, one month after President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, as the latest number of the drug suspects who were killed hit 592, a senior government official said Sunday.

Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said the Philippine National Police recorded crime volume of 50,817 in July from 56,339 during the same period last year.

Duterte has vowed to address criminality during the first three to six months of his administration.

Andanar said the index crime also went down by 31 percent to 11,800 in July from 17,105 last year.

He said the significant drop in the crime incidents in the country only shows the "strong and quick action" of the Duterte government.

In the campaign against illegal drugs, Andanar also cited that authorities have already conducted 5,422 operations from July 1 to Aug. 14.

The operations resulted in the killing of 592 suspected drug personalities and arrests of 8,332 others.

The total number of drug users and pushers who surrendered has reached 554,243.

Some groups, including the United Nations and the United States, have raised concern over the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines against individuals who were allegedly involved in illegal drugs. Endit