783 murders recorded during quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has documented 783 murder cases or an average of 10 killings a day in the country during the community quarantine.

Records show that the murders occurred from March 17 to May 30 when the government imposed strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Although this would translate to about 10 people killed daily during the past 75 days, this is still lower by 39.31 percent when compared to the 1,290 murders documented from Jan. 2 to March 16 when restrictions were not yet imposed.

The PNP also recorded 211 homicide cases or about two incidents a day during the quarantine period. This is about 31.27 percent lower compared to 307 cases recorded before the lockdown.

Among those murdered was Carlito Badion, secretary general of the militant urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, who was found dead in Ormoc City last Thursday.

But Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for operations, claimed that the presence of police checkpoints and imposition of curfew have contributed to the decrease in crimes during the community quarantine.