The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the government’s campaign against illegal drugs is gradually gaining ground by focusing on dismantling major drug syndicates.
“We are slowly but surely winning the drug war,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said during a press briefing on Friday, March 13.
His remarks came after the seizure of several kilos of shabu from a speedboat abandoned along the coast of Paluan, Occidental Mindoro.
Citing data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Remulla reported that authorities have confiscated around eight tons of illegal drugs from 2022 to 2026.
He also noted that the street price of shabu has nearly doubled—from ₱3,800 per gram in 2022 to nearly ₱7,000 per gram at present.
“Kaya umaakyat ang presyo dahil ang interdiction effort ng whole of nation, magkakasama kaming lahat dito… ay nagkaroon ng supply reduction, umakyat ang presyo… but you have to connect everything — less drug supply, higher price, less consumption, lower crime,” he explained.
“Umakyat ang presyo ng droga dahil sa interdiction, bumaba ang crime rate ng Pilipinas at nararamdaman na ‘yan,” he added.
Remulla emphasized that the anti-drug campaign has been pursued without resorting to killings.
“Hindi tayo pumapatay ng tao pero nareresolba natin unti-unti ang problema sa droga,” he said.