The Department of Justice (DoJ) and Malacañang on Monday belied former President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement made at the Senate that drug-related crimes had risen after his administration.

“In light of these verified statistics, the Department of Justice categorically dismisses the statement made by former President Duterte as anecdotal and lacking empirical support,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

Remulla cited the statistics provided by the Philippine National Police that were submitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which showed that total crimes recorded from 1 July 2022 to 31 January 2024 plummeted to 324,368, representing a 10.66-percent decrease from the 363,075 crimes recorded between 1 December 2020 and 30 June 2022.

The Marcos administration started on 1 July 2022 while Duterte’s term ended on 30 June 2022.

The latest statistics showed that seven out of eight focus crimes have seen significant declines, including a reduction in rape (11.08 percent), physical injuries (10.59 percent), robbery (2.26 percent), murder (10.17 percent), carnapping (23.27 percent) and homicide (0.91 percent).

The only exception was theft, which increased by 4.79 percent.

“With utmost respect for former President Duterte’s leadership, we believe that his perception of an escalating crime rate does not reflect the reality supported by concrete data,” Remulla said.

“The peace and order situation remains a top priority for the Marcos administration, and we are committed to assuring the Filipino people that our nation is on a path toward greater stability and security,” he added.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin echoed Remulla, saying, “There is no truth to his (Duterte’s) statement that crime remains rampant in the country.”

During the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee sub-panel’s inquiry on the illegal drugs war on Monday, Duterte said that crimes related to the use of illegal drugs had increased after his administration ended.

He also cited a raid on a drug den in the vicinity of Malacañang.

“It is unfortunate that illegal drugs are on the rise again. Every day you can read about children being raped, people getting killed and robbed, and just recently, a drug den was raided within the Malacañang complex. This manifests that the then-purveyors of this menace are back in business,” Duterte told the senators.