By Chito Chavez  Rejecting outright Vice-President Leni Robredo’s claim that the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign is a “miserable failure,” the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Friday said the past administration's accomplishments pale in comparison with that of the Duterte regime. PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon
(RTVM / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon claimed that anti-narcotics authorities have confiscated almost double that of the past administration only halfway into President Rodrigo Duterte's term. Claiming his assertions are validated by hard facts, Carreon said PDEA has seized 5.24 tons of shabu since 2016, compared to the Aquino administration’s measly 3.29-ton haul for the same illegal drug in six years. He added that anti-narcotics authorities also dismantled 14 clandestine laboratories that could have produced 96.65 tons of narcotics yearly. Carreon said the Vice-President’s declaration of a failed drug war has caused immense sadness to the men and women of the country’s anti-narcotics force whose lives were at risk during numerous operations. With this record, Carreon said PDEA and other anti-narcotics agencies “must be doing something right.” Carreon’s rebuttal was in response to Robredo’s report that the Duterte drug war confiscated only one percent of the 156,000 kilos of shabu that flood the country yearly since 2016. Earlier, PDEA Director-General Aaron Aquino the figure Robredo mentioned was merely a “wild assumption” based on police estimates. READ MORE: Robredo compared wrong figures on drugs war — PDEA Carreon said PDEA operatives voiced howls of protest as their efforts were seemingly downplayed by Robredo’s remarks. However, Carreon assured the public that PDEA will remain steadfast in performing its tasks and said Robredo’s report will only inspire them to prove her wrong. READ MORE: Robredo reports on failure of gov’t anti-drugs war