July 30, 2025 | Manila, Philippines
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla asserted that the anti-drug campaign under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has made significant progress without resorting to extrajudicial killings, in contrast to the previous administration’s controversial approach.
Speaking during a post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum in San Juan City, Remulla emphasized that the government’s intensified drug enforcement strategy has proven effective through lawful means.
“The drug war is working without killing anyone. People don’t need to be killed to win the drug war,” Remulla said, directly referencing the shift in strategy from that of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
President Marcos, during his fourth SONA on Monday, revealed that over 153,000 individuals have been apprehended in connection with illegal drug activities over the past three years—figures that reportedly mirror the arrest numbers under Duterte’s term.
Remulla also criticized the previous administration’s alleged reward-based system for anti-narcotics operations, claiming it compromised the integrity of law enforcement.
“Confiscating drugs became a performance metric. They gamed the system,” he said, referring to reports that authorities would submit only a fraction of seized narcotics and keep the rest.
During a congressional inquiry last year, retired police official Royina Garma testified that Duterte had allegedly ordered monetary rewards for officers involved in fatal anti-drug operations. Human rights groups estimate that between 12,000 to 30,000 individuals may have died during Duterte’s controversial campaign.
Currently, Duterte is facing trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity tied to the drug war.
Enhanced Strategy Emphasizes Human Rights
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director-General Isagani Nerez attributed the campaign’s effectiveness to a more “enhanced” and rights-based approach. From July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, authorities confiscated drugs worth over ₱82.79 billion.
Nerez noted that 9,686 high-value targets were arrested during Marcos’ first three years, surpassing the 7,054 arrested during the equivalent period under Duterte.
Still, data from the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center’s Dahas Project indicated that at least 1,022 drug-related killings have occurred since Marcos assumed office in 2022.
Despite this, Remulla highlighted signs of reduced drug demand and supply in the country. He cited that while national methamphetamine consumption previously averaged 16 tons annually, authorities only confiscated six tons in the last eight months. Additionally, the street price of methamphetamine reportedly surged by 35 percent, now costing around ₱6,800 per gram.
