MANILA, Philippines — To bolster the nation’s legal framework against transnational crime, Las Piñas City Lone District Representative Mark Anthony Santos has filed a measure aiming to brand major international drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
As chairperson of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, Santos introduced House Bill No. 11751, also known as the Anti-Narco-Terrorism Act of 2026. The legislation stems from intelligence reports tying at least four major transnational trafficking networks to the illicit drug trade within the Philippines.
Highlighting the scope of these criminal operations, Santos noted:
“Transnational drug syndicates pose a serious threat to our country because their operations can cross borders, involve multiple networks and rely on financiers and facilitators who may remain beyond the reach of conventional law enforcement efforts.”
The proposed bill seeks to amend both the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. By doing so, it aims to eliminate jurisdictional loopholes often exploited by international syndicates, particularly when narcotics shipments are intercepted outside Philippine borders.
Under the legislation, large-scale drug trafficking orchestrated by cartel leaders, members, or backers will be officially categorized as narco-terrorism, carrying severe penalties for anyone providing financial or material assistance.
Furthermore, the bill grants Philippine courts extraterritorial jurisdiction over specific offenses committed overseas, provided that the targeted narcotics were bound for or routed through the Philippines.
Additional provisions of the measure include asset freezing and forfeiture protocols, broader investigative authorities under judicial supervision, and strengthened cross-border legal cooperation and extradition frameworks.
Santos previously revealed that alongside the notorious Sam Gor syndicate, three other major groups—Chinese and Chinese-Filipino networks, a West African syndicate, and the Mexican Sinaloa cartel—have been linked to local supply chains.
Emphasizing the need to dismantle the financial pillars sustaining these networks, Santos explained:
“Authorities must look beyond intercepted shipments, follow the money, and work with foreign law enforcement to identify and dismantle the syndicates behind the drug trade.”
He added that cartels utilize sophisticated methods, including private aircraft, maritime corridors, and complex financial intermediaries, to evade detection.
“Drug syndicates do not operate solely through street-level distribution. They exploit private aircraft, maritime routes, financial intermediaries, and gaps in coordination among jurisdictions. Even when a shipment is intercepted, the people financing and organizing the operation may remain beyond the reach of investigators. Illegal drug syndicates that operate across borders are no longer mere criminal enterprises. They finance violence, corrupt public institutions, and undermine national security.”