THERE is no basis for the Philippine National Police to say that the University of the Philippines-Diliman is a “crime hotspot,” the school said as it cited data from its safety and security office and from the local police.

The university said that “no shabu or illegal drug laboratory has ever operated inside the campus.”

“Neither has there been information nor intelligence reports from the PNP or the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to back this claim.  The UPD Public Safety and Security Office in 2020 recorded drug-related crimes at only 1 to 2 percent of security incidents in UPD, and none of the three cases recorded in February 2020 involved UP students, faculty or staff,” it said.

PNP spokesman Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana on January 23 said there was a consistent “trend of non-index crime incidents” in Barangay UP Campus.

“During a dialogue among representatives from the government security sector and the academe, Commission on Higher Education authorities have noted the ‘prevalence of the drug problem’ in the state university and its police force’s inability to address crime and public safety issues in campus,” Usana said in a statement.

He added that the PNP recorded prevalent non-index crime incidents including 72 cases of illegal gambling, 21 malicious mischief, 43 violence against women and children, four direct assault, three forcible abductions, 14 homicide, five acts of lasciviousness, 13 estafa, 43 child abuse, 11 public health violations, and two cases of obstruction of justice.

The university however said that its security team recorded a 63 percent decrease in crime incidents within the campus, comparing figures from 2019 and 2020.

It said that there were only 91 cases in 2020 compared to 247 in 2019.

UPD said it maintained “cooperative relations” with Camp Karingal, the headquarters of the Quezon City Police District and Police Station 9 in Quezon City.

“The UP Diliman Executive Committee as well as our PSSO and the UPDP have been very accommodating to programs and efforts of our law enforcement agencies to totally eliminate the existence of illegal drugs inside the campus community. We ensure that UP Diliman is still one of the safest and most peaceful campus environments in the country,” UPD said.