Filipinos in New York warned of rising hate crimes

THE PHILIPPINE Consulate General in New York has told Filipinos to remain vigilant amid a citywide jump in major crimes, according to a post it made on Facebook.

The latest statistics released by the city’s police department showed a 37% increase in major crimes in New York.

“Kababayans are reminded to be situationally aware at all times when outside their residences and to take the necessary precautions to avoid becoming a victim of crime,” the consulate general said in the statement.

It also said grand theft cases had risen by 49% this year, car theft by 46%, robbery by 39% and burglary by 33%.

“Kababayans taking mass transport are also reminded to remain vigilant as transit crimes have also increased by 55.5% compared with last year,” the consulate general said.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Paul Raymund P. Cortes has said that in documented cases, victims who were in the subway did not even realize that they were being yelled at and told to “go back home to your own Asian country.”

Some, he added, have become traumatized. The consulate helps victims by providing them with “psychosocial help or therapy” after experiencing an attack.

In March, at least three Filipino seniors were beaten, with one to the point of unconsciousness, and the other hit more than a hundred times by the perpetrator. They also got robbed.

Hate crimes have also increased by 13% across New York.

At least 41 Filipinos in the city have been victimized since 2021. The latest was an assault against an 18-year-old Filipino tourist near the Philippine Center in Manhattan last week. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan