MANILA, Philippines — Officials and employees of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) welcomed the appointment of former Armed Forces chief and current Undersecretary Eduardo Año as officer-in-charge of the agency and expect him to intensify the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, crime and corruption, and promote good local governance.

DILG employees also congratulated former OIC Catalino Cuy on his appointment as the new chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

“We are confident that OIC Año will lead the DILG in achieving its reform agenda in support of President Duterte’s priority thrusts. We believe that his experience, professionalism and dedication to service prepared him well to lead this department as he builds up on the efforts began by Cuy in the government’s anti-illegal drugs, anti-crime and anti-corruption programs,” Undersecretary Austere Panadero said.

On the other hand, the DILG Employees Union, through its president Kieth Lagmay, expressed its strong support for Año as he shepherds the department’s “flock to be of better and more efficient service to local governments and the public in general.”

The DILG officials and staff likewise thanked Cuy for his dedicated service in the department and wished him well on his new journey in the DDB, an equally challenging task.

Año’s appointment as DILG OIC was released by the Office of the President Friday after Cuy was named as the new DDB chair. 

DILG Assistant Secretary for Communications Jonathan Malaya said the DILG ended 2017 on a positive note as significant accomplishments were gained during Cuy’s watch.

“Under OIC Cuy, the PNP has reported that index crimes in January to October 2017 decreased to 93,290, which is about a 21 percent improvement from the recorded 118,183 crimes for the same period last year,” Malaya said.

Index crimes are those classified as serious and occurring with sufficient frequency and regularity that they are considered index to the crime situation in a given area.

These include murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft and carjacking. 

Meanwhile, non-index crimes registered more than five percent decrease with the 353,816 crimes recorded in January to October 2017 compared to the 372,517 crimes recorded in the same period last year.  

Aside from lowering crime incidents, solving crimes such as by taking into custody or charging an offender before an appropriate office or court have increased. Crime clearance efficiency rate has increased to 74.36 percent in January to October 2017 from 69.2 percent in January to October 2016.

For the same periods, crime solution efficiency rate or cleared cases out of the total number of crime incidents handled by police authorities have increased to 61.02 percent from 56.48 percent.

Malaya said on the local governance front, the DILG ensured the continuous drive for local government units’ transparency, accountability and good local governance.

“The seeds of change have been planted in the local government sector during the time of OIC Cuy and we expect more to bear fruit under the leadership of Año,” he said. 

A total of 448 LGUs, including eight provinces, 61 cities and 359 municipalities, were conferred with the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award last year, which is 46 percent higher than the total of 306 awardees in 2016.

The conferment of the SGLG comes with more than recognition as the LGU-awardees are provided with the Performance Challenge Fund (PCF), which they use to implement various development projects in their areas.

The DILG is also administering thousands of completed, ongoing and pipelined projects in communities nationwide under its various programs and these are in line with the administration’s policy of bringing about beneficial and inclusive change for the Filipino people.

The DILG through the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology also ensured the welfare and development of 148,987 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) nationwide, 83,872 of whom benefitted from livelihood projects, 141,029 benefitted from Behavioral Modification and Development through the Therapeutic Community and Modality Program, and 72,957 from the educational programs within its facilities.

The Bureau also launched College Behind Bars, an academic institution located in Davao City Jail where 70 PDLs are currently enrolled. 

On the other hand, the DILG’s Bureau of Fire Protection reported a significant 27 percent decrease in the total number of fire incidents with 11,961 fire incidents from January to September 2017 compared to 16,407 for the same period in 2016.