Manila: The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday refuted China’s claim that public security in the Philippines is “worsening,” noting a drop in crime rate in the first eight months of the year. “Our crime situation in the Philippines is not worsening because based on our data, there is a 16.5 percent decrease [in crime rate],” PNP information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tua±o said in a press briefing.

According to Philippines News Agency, Tua±o reported that there were 22,519 focus crime incidents recorded from Jan. 1 to Aug. 28, 2025, which is lower than the 26,969 incidents recorded during the same period last year. Focus crimes include murder, homicide, rape, physical injury, carnapping of motorcycles and motor vehicles, and theft.

In a post on X on Sunday night, the Chinese Embassy in Manila reminded Chinese citizens in the Philippines to monitor local security, exercise increased caution, strengthen self-protection measures, avoid high-risk areas, and ensure personal and property safety. It also advised those intending to visit the Philippines to conduct careful risk assessments first. The embassy stated, ‘Recently, public security in the Philippines has been worsening, with increasing crimes targeting Chinese nationals.’

Tua±o mentioned that acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered the Directorate for Intelligence to coordinate with the Chinese Embassy to understand the basis of its advisory. ‘We will follow proper channels and procedures. We will get the exact details because the instruction of the chief PNP is not to make a guess of what they feel and instead, coordinate with them to know their sentiments,’ Tua±o said.

He further shared that according to PNP data, there were 21 cases of kidnapping recorded from January to August where both the victims and the perpetrators were Chinese nationals.