PALO, Leyte — A controversial government safety program once widely criticized as “anti-poor” has been credited with cutting focus crimes by more than half across the Eastern Visayas region, police reported.

Data released by the Police Regional Office 8 (PRO-8) shows that following the intensified rollout of the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Safe City Initiative, the region’s eight focus crimes dropped by 57.52 percent.

The downward trend began shortly after the program launched on 6 April 2026. Regional crime incidents initially dropped from 126 cases between 3 February and 6 March to 116 cases from 7 March to 5 April, a 7.94 percent reduction.

The decline accelerated through the spring, with police recording 113 incidents between 6 April and 6 May, followed by a sharp plunge to just 48 incidents between 7 and 20 May.

According to PRO-8 data, rape cases saw the sharpest decline, falling from 49 to 19 incidents. Theft cases dropped from 92 to 57, and robberies decreased from 25 to 20.