Authorities in the Cordillera region are reporting an overall downtrend in regionwide cases of child abuse this year compared to the preceding years.
Police Regional Office-Cordillera Administrative Region (PROCOR) data indicates that every single province in the region has reported a decrease in child abuse incidence this year compared to the preceding year.
Benguet, which had the highest number of cases in 2023, at 100, recorded the biggest drop with 67 cases, while all other territories also saw drops in cases.
Baguio City had 84 cases down from 92 last year; Ifugao went to 31 from 43; Kalinga went to 29 from 42; Abra went to 32 from 34; Apayao went to 19 from 22 cases; and Mountain Province to 19 from 21.
According to the PROCOR data, the majority of the victims are females, with cases going to as young as two years of age.
Some 99 offenders have been arrested in the region, but the PROCOR urges locals to continue reporting any such incidents, noting that there may be further unreported incidents in the region even as local law enforcement conducts house to house information operations.
