•
Trends In Murder and Rape Inddems In the Philippines
a~d Metro Manila, 1980to 1994
Ricardo M. Zarco
Filomln A. Candallza·Gutierrez
Marlon R. Dulnuan
r
r our study, we chose two
R crimes which are pervasive,
frequent, and regularly occur-
ring-murder and rape. Both crimes
are heinous and occur at all levels
of society. They are also index
crimes in the uniform" crime
reporting system. Data for these two
contrasting heinous crimes are
available for the reference period
« of 1980 to 1994.
As in other societies, we regard
the incidence rate of murder as an
indicator of violence and rape, a
gender-related phenomenon as
indicative of the status of women
in society.
The media's attention is
• currently focused on crimes such
as kidnapping for ransom, armed
robbery of banks and payrolls,
Philippine Sociological Review Vol. 43, Nos. 1-4 (1995):43·54•
•
multiple murders or massacres, and
rape. We did not focus our
discussion on kidnap for ransom
and bank robberies because they
are oflimited occurrence (less than
a hundred of each of these crimes
occur per year in the country), and
because they are rampant only
within particular regions: bank
robberies and kidnapping in the
metropolis and kidnapping in the
Mindanao regions. The social
impact of these "crimes, which
target the upper income levels of
society, cannot compare with the
social harm resulting from rape
and murder, prevalent crimes
which hit a wide range of socio-
economic" classes in the
population. Hence, in the interest
of relevance, priority was directed
to the analysis of murder and
rape.
 •
Crime reporting and crime statistics· per 100,000 population, can be
considered as acceptable data
It is true that crime statistics despite a few unreported cases.
depend on crime reporting. Some What are unreported cases like? In
crimes are grossly underreported, areas like the Mountain Province
some are substantially reported, and Muslim Min d a n ao ; where
, _ and others are consistently reported . alternative ju s tic e systems
to th e pol ice. Ex amp I e s 0 f
underreported crimes are theft and
robbery involving small amounts,
estafa, bribery, and extortion. These
crimes are rarely reported to law
enforcement authorities. Rape and
supported by their respective
culture and traditions exist side by
side with the government's, those
who opt for tradition-based alter-
natives may not report incidents of
murder to the police or file cases
,
kidnapping-for-ransom are in court. Nonetheless, the estimate
substantially reported crimes. of unreported murders based on
Statistics for these crimes are earlie r victimization figure s is le ss
dubious, however, because it is than 10 percent.
difficult to estimate what proportion
of the total number of such offenses What about homicide and rape?
the reported frequency represents. These two crimes are difficult to
interpret for different reasons.
In contrast, murder, motor Homicide is an index crime which
vehicle theft, and bank robbery are is set apart from murder; homicide
crimes which are consistently and murder are separate in de x
•
reported to, detected, and noted by crimes in the government crime
the police in the hope of finding reporting system. The figure for
justice. Very few incidents of homicide is composed of different
murder are unreported. Victimi- causes of death, such as those
zation studies conducted by the which are accidental or which
authors reveal that in current-day involve negligence, those that are
Philippine society, 90 percent of mysterious or occur under
murders are reported. However, the suspicious circumstances, and those
police authorities still discover that involve intentional killings..
murder victims reported mainly by without premeditation. Due to this
•
other individuals. Corpses found mixture 0 f types, the total homicide
bearing signs of torture, moles- statistics does not specifically
tation, or other intentionally indicate anything. It is therefore a
inflicted forms of injury are poor parameter of heinous crimes
classified and recorded as cases of or of social violence.
murder. In the light of these charac-
teristics, statistics for cases of Rape is another index crime of
murder, such as volume and rates which substantial cases are re-

44 •
•
ported. Such data, however, are
biased because the reportage is
selective. In the study of reporting
behavior among victims, the
authors discovered that victirnio-
logical factors determine the
probability of reporting to the
police. Victimiology is the study of
the relationship between the victim
and the offender. A woman raped
r by very close relatives or kin
members would hesitate to take the
matter to the authorities and, if she
does, it takes several months or
years after the first sexual attack.
Housemaids rarely report being
raped by their employers or their
employer's sons. But when a female
survives a sexual attack by a gang
or men who are strangers or mere
acquaintances, the response, in the
form of a police report, takes place
• within a week. The closer the
relationship between victim and
offender, the less likely it is that the
report will reach the authorities
without delay.
The victimiological as well as
victimization studies attach little
credence to the often mentioned
reasons cited why victims fail to
• report the crime to the police.
Surveys claim that victims do not
report crimes to the police because
of distrust of police officers,.as well
as the time, effort, and expense
entailed by the entire procedure.
• 45
These are often mere verbal claims.
A car owner who loses a brand-new
car with a comprehensive insurance
policy will report the theft to the
police regardless of whether or not
he trusts the law enforcers and will
take the time and effort to complete
the arduous task. Those who
belittle all of the government's
crime statistics should be reminded
that the uses of crime data require
a careful assessment of how specific
crimes are reported to or
discovered by the police.
Murder
Murder was chosen as the main
indicator of social violence for
several reasons. The statistic of this
index crime is credible, the crime
is the most heinous in our penal
code, and it is frequent and wide-
spread. The rate (calculated per
100,OOO.population per year) for
murder reflects the ups and
downs of the dynamics of social
turmoil in the country from year
to year. In this 1S-year period
inquiry from 1980 to 1994, the
national murder situation is
presented using the murder
volume based on the i n cid en ts
investigated, discovered, and filed
by law enforcement agencies.
Murder volume does not refer to
the number of persons victimized
or arrested.

Mo st mu rd e rs arise from
t committed for fun. curiosity. or to
disputes where violence is the
alternative choice to pursue or settle
the dispute . .As much as 75 per-
cent of murders are dispute-related;
the rest are for motives such as
financial or material profit or are
related to other crimes. The motives
behind a few cases of murder are
unclear. such as those' allegedly
•
impress one's gangmates with one's
boldness.
The statistics on the murder
volume and murder rates per
100.000 population from 1980 to
1994 for Metro Manila and the
country as a whole are shown in
Table 1.

Table 1. Volume and rates of murder incidents: Philippines and Metro Manila, 1980-1994

Nationwide Murder Statistics· Metro Manila murder Statistics·

Year Volume Crime ratel Year Volume Crime ratel
100,000 100,000

1980 4,971 10.3 1980 456 7.7

1981 6,301 12.7 1981 494 7.8
1982 6,831 13.4 1982 436 6.7
1983 10.567 20.5 1983 492 7.4
1984 9.945 18.6 1984 553 8.1
1985 10.092 18.5 1985 748 10.8
1986 10.178 18.2 1986 764 10.7
1987
1988
12.305
10,521
21.4
17.9
1987
1988
1.123
1.115
15.3
14.8
•
1989 9.813 16.3 1989 1.183 15.2
1990 9.281 15.3 1990 944 11;9
1991 8.707 13.8 1991 746 9.1
1992 8.293 12.9 1992 726 8.7
1993 7.758 11.8 1993 759 8.8
1994 6.446 9.6 1994 449 5.1

~istics were gathered (rom the National Pollee Commission and the Phlllpp,f!le National
Pollee. Crime rates were computed using crime volume and population statistics from the
National Census and Statistics Office (NCSO).
•
. From 1983 to 1988. the national national murder crime volume .
murder volume during a crime Putting it another way. 90 percent
wave year was 9.000 to 12.300 of murder incidents occurred
incidents per year. The murder outside Metro Manila. The murder
rate for that period ranged from crime volume in Metro Manila"
17.9 to 21.4 per 100.00 popu- ranged from 426 in 1992 to
lation. Metro Manila con tribu ted around 1.200 in 1989. The "murder
around 10 percent to the total rates per 100.000 population were

48
•
 at their highest in the national murder rate in the metropolis was
capital region from 1987 to 1989, from 30 to 40 percent lower than
when the rates lowered around 15 the national statistics (Figures 1
per 100,000. In general, the and 2).

Figure 1. Anaualmurder volume: PhUlpplnesand Metro Manila, 1980-1994.

13,000 r----------------------------.
12,000

11,000

10,000

9,000

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,0001
~ ~~~~==:~~449
o
• 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1988 1987
Ye.,
1998 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

E!- Philippines ....- MetroManilal

·StatlstiCil were gathered lrom the National Police Commission and the Philippine National
Pollee. Crime rate was computed using crime volume and population statistics lrom NCSO.

The figures may run counter involving murder and serious

• to the popular perception that

Metro Manila is the crime capital
of the nation. In terms of
physical injuries were low in the
metropolis.

property-related offenses, this Murder rates and volumes had

notion is true, e.g., car the ft,
robbery, theft and estafa or fraud,
as well as crimes against the rich
and well-to-do, such as kidnap-
ping for ransom. However,
serious crimes against persons
been on the decline in the country
and in Metro Manila since the ir
peak in the late 1980s. It was in
1988 when the nationwide murder
rate first declined; the downward
trend continued every year there ..

• 41
Figure 2. Annual murder volume: Philippines and Metro Manila, 1980-1994·

22
20
c
e 18
j
:= 16
a.
o 14
a.
Q
Q 12
Q
o 10 9.6
...
Q
8
ta. 6
~ 5.1
4
f
~ 2
e
'C 0
I..;l
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Year
I-+-PhiliPpines ......Metro Manila I

·Statistics were gathered from the National Police Commission and the Philippine National
Police. Crime rate was computed using crime volume and population statistics from NCSO.
after until 1994. In Metro Ma n ila ,
the decline began in 1990 and the
same trend continued until the end
of the period of inquiry. These
trends, however, remained un-
noticed by major governmen tal
agencies, and the opposite trend---:-
an upsurge in crime--continues to
be editorialized in print and
electronic media. Te l e v is i o n
commentators insisted that killings
are on the increase by citin'g a few
gruesome massacres, rape slays,
and robbery-homicide cases to
support their view: The social
reality, however, is that in 1994, the
•
Metro ~hnila murder rate declined
to 5. 1, a' mere 0 n e -th ird 0 f \V hat it
was in 1987. Media people insist
that the statistics are incorrect.
\\1 h il e m II r d e r will not b e
eliminated, the observed reduction
in rates and volumes, based on the
best empirical data available, show
definite positive changes. The se are
•
signs of better times ahead.
Should we w ish to indulge In
speculation, we can look to some
of the p o ssib le major contributors
to murder incidents. The gradual
decline of communist insurgency,

48 •
 military operations, political
elections, and conflicts between
organized labor and management
are variables which should be tested
for association against the murder
rates. Quarrels and interpersonal
disputes will persist and senseless
killings will continue, but they will
no longer be at crime levels of 15
to 20 per 100,000 population per
• year for the entire country.
Rape: the crime of the decade
Rape is one of the most
publicized crime today. It is, under
Philippine law, a crime exclusively
against women. Around two years
after the death penalty was
restored, more than a hundred
convicts were admitted to the death
row, a separate prison facility
• inside the Bureau of Corrections
and Penology. By December 1995.
our data show that 53 percent of
these inmates were convicted for
rape and rape-related crimes; the
rest were convicted for murder and
murder-related crimes (35 percent).
kidnapping for ransom (6 percent).
and drug smuggling (6 percent).
• Why do we convict more rapists
than murderers when it is clear that
murder incidents were at least three
to six times more than rape
incidents during the past 14 years?
The answer is most probably
judicial in character: it is much
easier for a prosecutor to gather
good evidence and witnesses (as
the victim herself stands as witness)
for a conviction in rape cases than
for one in murder. Based on our
interviews with rape suspects in
jails and convicts in prison, our
assessment is that the rape
offender has very little support
and sympathy outside of his close
relatives. These are men whose
average age is 32 years while their
victim's average age is 16 years.
More than half of the victims are
children below 15. The crime of
rape is perceived by society as an
offense so odious that its
perpetrator deserves to be
penalized immediately. It is
probably due to this heavy stigma
on rape that all suspects in
detention we have interviewed
vehemently denied their guilt and
involvement in the act. Rape is an
act motivated by a desire for sexual
gratifica.tion and the infliction of
pain upon a female. Considering
the sustained media focus on
rape. which will continue into the
next years. when the death
convicts will be executed. the
increasing reported rates of rape
will showcase this offense as the
crime of the decade.
Crime data andcrime reporting
rape Incidents
The existing crime data on rape.
consisting of rape volume and rate
per 100.000 population. represent
49
a small segment of the total rape to the police. The disclosure and
incidents in the country. In our report may be initiated by outsiders
recent victimization survey of 813 such as the victim's teacher or the
middle- and upper-class women barangay (village) chairperson.
aged 16-22 years in a co- However, if the father is an
educational university, all. 17 rape economic failure,' a wife- and
incidents detected from the survey' child-beating alcoholic whose wife
were not reported to the police. is the primary breadwinner of the
This could be owing to the fact that family, the report of the incident
once a rape incident was reported, . will be initiated from within the
it becomes public record. The family or household. Such fathers II
negative publicity this could bring make the most likely candidates
to the family and household is for life imprisonment or death
considered by the victim and her penalty. Despite the suppression
family be for.ehand. and selective reporting of domestic
rape inc id e nts, police records
The most frequent type of rape reflect the highest frequency of
is domestic wherein the per- this type of rape. However, police
petrators are members of the' records tend to contain cases
victim's household.' Our study of mostly from the lower classes.
450 police investigation reports This gives us the impression that
reveals that core members of the young women from these socio-
household do not report the economic classes are a high-risk
incidents if the household would group.
•
be adversely affected by the
disclosure . .In many cases, the Rape-slays are sexual attacks on
family or household tries to repel a single victim usually performed
public attention on the incident. It by a gang, culminating in-murder.
often takes a long period before the When the attacker is alone, the
offense reaches the police. In some death 0 f the victim is faster and
cases,.it requires intervention from less bru tal compared with a gang
p eescns outside the family who ~ape in which cruel forms of
becomes concerned abou t the torture and mutilation of the
victim's plight. victim's body can be noted.
•
Practically all rape-slays are dis-
Father-daughter rape is a very covered and reported to the
frequent pattern. If the father is the police but are recorded as
sole economic head of the murders or homicide and not
household, then no one in the rape, the former crime(s) being
family is likely to report the incident the more severe.

50
• Rape-slays are an infrequent
crime. Very much less than a
hundred cases occur every year in
the country (with a population of
neady 70 million). It must be noted.
however. that there is no clear-cut
tracking of this type of crime since
it is classified under murder (or
homicide).
,. An overwhelming majority of all
rape cases (90 percent) are
committed by men who are known
to or identifiable by the victims;
10 percent are committed by
strangers. This 10 percent are often
gang rapes. the most vicious and
brutal type ofabuse. Since this type
of abuse conforms to social
expectations of a typical rape
incident. the surviving victim finds
abundant social support from kin.
• friends. and community to bring the
matter to the police. Victims of
incest and close-relation rapes find
little social support after the
incident.
Most stranger rapes are reported
immediately. The interval between
occurrence of this crime and the
date of the report is one to two
• weeks on the average. This is
because the process of reporting
involves several procedures. The
police investigation will .have to
take place after the victim has
secured a medical certificate from
a crime laboratory physician. who
is often located outside the station
in another district of the Metropolis.
The examination is often traumatic
to the victim as it is usually
performed by a male physician who
examines the victim's private parts
in detail. The written report then is
carried by the victim back to the
police where the investigation
continues.
Reporting is not easy on the
victim and her supporters. Those
who lack the resources and effort
to accomplish this complex. diffi-
cult. and demeaning task will have
serious doubts about proceeding
with the case.
The above stated reasons lead
us to conclude that the existing
statistics on rape hardly represent
the actual number of rape incidents.
Rape reports on the rise
Nationwide. and especially in
Metro Manila. rape volumes and
rates per 100.000 during the 15-
year period from 1980 to 1994
were on the rise (Table 2). These.
however. can be attributed to the
increase in reports and not to the
rise of incidents, Our theory
behind this trend has to do with
the relative increase in the
empowerment of women and
their capability to report abuses
against them and their family
members. There are two reasons for
the increase of reports. particularly
51
 in the case of domestic rapes. The in the police service. which has
•
/'

first is the increase in the number
of women whose roles in the
household as wife and mother
have acquired economic strength. -
They assume new roles in the
. household as secondary. if not
primary. breadwinners. Such
women have access to options
and would not tolerate a husband
or lover who rapes their daughter
or other female relatives in the
household. This is apparent in
the sudden increase of father-
daughter rape convictions during
recent years. The city- jails and
prisons we visited were full of
such cases. The second reason is
the creation of the Women's Desk
made the reporting of rape less
daunting to the victim. Pol ice-.
women. instead of men. receive
the complaints of victims.
parents. or guardians .
The noted surge of reports on
domestic rape in the Metro Manila.
area extending into nearby
provinces is logical. These places \~
are areas of economic opportu-
nities and growth where most of
our gainfully employed women
reside .. Also. the feminist move-
ments and the establishment of
Women's Desks in police districts
first became operational in the
city.

Table 2. Volume and rates of murder incidents: Philippines and Metro Manila, 1980-1994

Nationwide Murder Statistics·

Year Volume Crime ratcl
100,000
Metro Manila Murder Statistics·
Year Volume Crime ratcl
100,000
•
1980 1,190 2.5 1980 266 4.5
1981 1,184 2.4 1981 215 3.4
1982 1,283 2.5 1982 146 2.3
1983 1,222 2.4 1983 168 2.5
1984 1,303 2.4 1984 221 2.5
1985 1,322 2.4 1985 221 3.2
1986 1,342 2.4 1986 172 2.4
1987
~988
'1989'
1,470
1,738
1,479
.2.6
3.0
2.5
1987
1988
1989
237
212
285
3.2
2.8
3.7
•
1990 1,970 3.3 1990 335 4.2
1991 2,026 3.2 1991 364 4.5
1992 2,149 3.3 1992 350 4.2
1993 2,285 3.5 1993 396 4.6
1994 2,475 3.7 1994 516 5.9

estatistics.were gathered from the National Pollee Commission and the Philippine National
Pollee. Crime rates were computed using crime volume and population statistics from the NCSO.

52
 The authors are of the opinion
that the nature of rape incidents
as well as the rates have not
drastically changed during the
past quarter of a century. What
has changed, however, is
reporting of incidents to the
police. This increase in women's
, capability to report abuses against
them is indicative of the
increasing participation of women
in the labor force, which has
References
Berfield, Susan and
Antonio Lopez
1996 "Where is the Law?"Aria-
week, January 26, pp.22-26.
• Hagan, Frank E
1993 Research Methods in
Crim in al ju stic e and Crimi-
nology. Third edition. New
York: MacMillan Publishing
Co.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. 1996 "Less than one percent In
100 crimes reported to the
police, study shows," April
21, p. 3.
raised their social and economic
status from being an economic
dependent to a breadwinner.
This, in turn, has led them to a
growing consciousness of their
rights and the protection of these
righ ts.
This paper is part ofa larger r cacar ch l'rojec£
sponsored by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development, and partially
funded by the Rockefeller Iouudetioa.
Field data on Rape Research in
progress, 1995-1996, by the
authors for the Department of
Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD):
1. "Men in Death Row,
December 7,1995," data from the
Office 0 f the Overseer, Maximum
Security Unit, Bureau of
Corrections and Penology,
Muntinlupa, Metro Manila.
2. 'The Perpetrators: Rape Sus-
pects in Jails and Convicts in
Prison, 1995-1996,"data from jails
and prison interviews.
53
 3. Police investigation reports
on rape, 450 cases from Metro
Manila police stations, 1989-
1996.
4. Case studies based on
interviews of sexually abused
children" in Marillac Hills,
Alabang, Metro Manila (a DSWD
54
institution for distressed.
children).
5. "Statistical Data on Rape and
Murder from 1980 to 1994" from the
National Police Commission,
Philippine National Police, and the
National Census and Statistics Office
(NCSO)."