Puerto Princesa recorded a 9.3% increase in total crime incidents during the first eight months of 2026 as road-related cases surged, even as index crimes and other peace-and-order offenses declined, police data showed.
The Puerto Princesa City Police Office (PPCPO) recorded 434 incidents from January 1 to August 31, up from 397 during the same period in 2025.
The increase was driven by cases classified under the Public Safety Indicator, which climbed by 73.6% from 72 to 125 incidents.
“Mostly po ’yan mga road crash incident. Kaya tumaas po ’yun. ’Yung problema natin doon,” Police Lieutenant Colonel Aurelio Cabintas of the City Investigation and Detective Management Unit said during the PPCPO presentation.
Cases of reckless imprudence resulting in physical injury more than doubled from 27 to 56. Reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property also rose from 31 to 54 cases, while those resulting in homicide increased from 14 to 15.
Cabintas said human error was among the factors behind the road crashes, with some incidents involving drivers who had consumed alcohol.
“Ang lumalabas po na dahilan ay human error. May mga ibang instances na nakainom ’yung mga nagmamaneho,” he said.
He also pointed to speeding as a factor that may have worsened the outcomes of some crashes.
“Kung siguro dahan-dahan ang pagtakbo, maaaring hindi sana sila humantong sa pagkamatay. Maaaring sugatan lamang po,” Cabintas said.
Despite the higher overall count, incidents under the Peace and Order Indicator declined from 325 to 309.
“Pero po ’yung ating crime na may mga suspect, ’yung mga awayan, bumaba naman po tayo,” he said.
Index or focus crimes also dropped from 81 to 74 cases. Theft decreased from 22 to 17, physical injury from 13 to 11, and motorcycle carnapping from seven to six.
Rape remained unchanged at 26 cases, while murder and homicide stayed at three and one, respectively. Robbery increased from nine to 10 cases.
“Base sa data, ’yung robbery lang po ang tumaas comparing with the two periods. So ’yung iba sustained, ’yung iba bumaba,” Cabintas said.
Non-index crimes declined from 244 to 235. Plainly reported incidents increased from 116 to 121, while cases resulting from police-initiated operations fell from 128 to 114.
At the station level, Police Station 2 continued to record the highest number of peace-and-order incidents, although its total dropped from 141 in 2025 to 119 this year.
Police Station 4 also posted a slight decline from 14 to 13 incidents. Police Station 5 recorded 15 cases, while Police Station 6 recorded 11 during the first eight months of 2026.
Cabintas said crimes were concentrated in the jurisdictions of Police Stations 1 and 2 because these cover commercial areas with larger populations.
“Makikita po sa data natin na ang pumapalo diyan ay PS1 and PS2 dahil commercial area, has something to do with the population itself,” he said.
The figures indicate that the increase in Puerto Princesa’s overall crime count came mainly from road crashes and other reckless imprudence cases rather than from conventional crimes.
