THE Consul General in New York yesterday said 42 hate-related and other crime incidents against Filipinos in New York City were “isolated cases,” adding the United States is still a safe destination.
“I’m not saying it’s normal but it has not reached the proportion where we could say that it’s really very dangerous and it is not safe to go to New York,” Consul General Elmer Cato told radio DZBB.
“We consider this as isolated cases because there are 42 cases not just of hate crimes, and we have 67,000 Filipinos in New York so this is just 0.006 percent,” he said.
He said other minorities, not only Asians, are also being victimized, adding what is happening in New York is also taking place in other countries.
“What’s happening in New York is also happening in other countries in the world. It’s not only Asians that are being targeted for hate crimes,” he added.
The most recent case involved a 51-year-old Filipina verbally assaulted in a New York subway station last week.
The consulate had earlier advised Filipinos to remain vigilant in the face of an increase in major crimes in the city.
Citing statistics provided by the New York City Police Department, the consulate said there was a 37 percent increase in major crimes citywide.
The consulate said the NYPD data showed larceny was up 49 percent this year, grand larceny 46.2 percent, robbery 39.2 percent and burglary by 32.9 percent.
Transit crimes have also increased by 55.5 percent compared to last year while hate crimes also rose by 12.6 percent city-wide.
