President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday ordered his men to address political violence, including those that are stemmed from illegal drug trade, as such crimes are today's biggest threats in the country. At the 1st National Peace and Order Council (NPOC) and Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) Meeting 2023 in Malacañang, Marcos made his directive to the members of both councils as the government is now confronting increasing violent activities, particularly after the 2022 elections. Despite this, Malacañang noted the decrease in recorded crimes in 2022 by 11.87 percent compared to 2021. "They happened just after the election and they just... halos sunod-sunod (almost one after the other). Kaya't naging very prominent sa pag-iisip ng taong-bayan na masyado na talagang naging malala ito (It has become very prominent in the minds of the people because they are becoming worse)," he said. "And of course, that is true because even one is too much. But nonetheless, in terms of the political violence, I think, I hope, and we must continue to look out for, and watch out for this is that the experience that we have been having," he added. Among those present during the meeting were Vice President Sara Duterte, Department of National Defense Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año. Marcos demanded both councils to focus on solving the proliferation of loose firearms, which fuel violence in the country, as well as the rise of warlordism. There is another problem that confronts the country, according to the President. That is the battle over territory among drug syndicates. "It stems from the territorial fights over areas where drugs are distributed, who controls the drug trade in that area. Kung minsan naririnig natin, mayroong talagang scalawag diyan (That's why sometimes we're hearing that there are really scalawags there)," he said, pointing out the need to monitor those activities that "have to be dismantled." The meeting, which for the President is timely, was organized to provide updates on the Philippine peace and order issues and help in the crafting of policy decisions to address such. From 2016 to 2022, such activity yielded various accomplishments, including the successful conduct of surveillance and intelligence operations by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism efforts, anti-illegal drugs campaign, and effective COVID-19 response, according to Malacañang. At least 67 guerilla fronts were disbanded, 8,645 members of Communist Terrorist Groups were neutralized and 28,713 rebels surrendered to the government due to such cooperation among various government agencies. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of illegal drug operations were conducted, which yielded several tons of confiscated drugs. The crime solution and crime clearance efficiency ended at 82.28 percent and 96.72 percent, respectively, in 2022, Malacañang reported.