MANILA, Sept. 1 -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday refuted China's claim that public security in the Philippines is "worsening," noting the 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 Tuano said in a press briefing.

Tuano said there were 22,519 focus crime incidents recorded from Jan. 1 to Aug. 28, 2025, lower than the 26,969 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 Embas...