As talks about the bloody drug war starts anew over the inclusion of former top police officials as co-perpetrators in the crime against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it made significant gains in the campaign against illegal drugs in a manner that observes human rights and upholds the rule of law.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. emphasized the need to instill discipline, upholding integrity and continuous pursuit of professionalism of the police organization to meet the high public expectation.

“The Philippine National Police remains focused on sustaining and even surpassing the country’s achievements in the drug campaign—both in the aspects of confiscation of illegal drugs and arrest of illegal drug personalities, particularly on the supply side,” said Nartatez. 

“We are also making sure that all our operations strictly follow the police operational procedures that are anchored on integrity and the rule of law as part of our continuous efforts to win the trust and respect of the Filipino people,” he added.

The PNP released its statement after former PNP chiefs Ronald dela Rosa and Oscar Albayalde, along with former PNP officer-in-charge Vicente Danao, were named as among the hierarchy in the bloody drug war of former president Rodrigo Duterte that started in Davao City.

Also named were former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Danter Gierran and former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Isidro Lapeña. 

The drug war claimed more than 6,000 people in police operations and thousands more by drug war-inspired vigilante groups during the six-year term of Duterte. The fatalities also include minors who died in police operations.

Experts said the PNP was one of the biggest losers in the bloody drug war as it lost its trust and respect by the people over allegations of abuse of authority, extra-judicial killings, planting of evidence and even recycling of seized llegal drugs. 

President Marcos, through his first PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin, initiated drastic changes in the campaign against illegal drugs that focused on less bloody operations and giving drug users the opportunity to reform—a policy change that resulted in the word war between Azurin and dela Rosa.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the drug war campaign against the Marcos administration only proved that the anti-illegal drugs could be carried out successfully without bloodshed.

He said the Marcos administration already seized P99.5 billion worth of illegal drugs in just a span of three years, compared to almost the same figure during the Duterte administration’s six-year campaign.

Of the figure, around P25.3 billion of them were seized in aggressive police operations for the entire 2025 alone, according to the PNP.

The same operations last year also resulted in the arrest of over 67,000 illegal drug personalities. 

Nartatez, for his part  emphasized that drug operations will continue to be relentless and intelligence-driven, not merely targeting small-time users and pushers. 

“The series of successful operations in the past few years is proof that we are making significant gains in running after high-value targets and in disrupting the supply network of illegal drugs syndicates,” said Nartatez.