FORMER Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) director-turned Quezon City Police District (QCPD) chief, Brigadier General Remus B. Medina on Tuesday was cited by the House of Representatives for leading his men in hauling around P13.6 billion worth of shabu and other prohibited drugs during his stint at the PNP-DEG.

A member of PNP Academy (PNPA) Class 1993, Brig. Gen. Medina received the Congressional Recognition Award for accounting for the P13.6 billion worth of the so-called “poor man’s cocaine” and other dangerous drugs from April 25, 2021 to last February 2, the record drug haul made at the height of the pandemic brought about by the COVID-19 virus.

PNP Chief General Dionardo B. Carlos tapped another PNPA Class 1993 member in the person of Brig. Gen. Randy Q. Peralta to replace Medina as PNP-DEG director and launch more “intelligence-driven” operations to get more high-value targets (HVTs) in the country with the help of other PNP units and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The top cop also ordered the PNP-DEG to help implement their campaign plan “Double Barrel Finale Version 2022”.

So far, the PNP-DEG under Peralta have already accounted for nearly P700 million worth of shabu and marijuana and dozens of “HVTs” including a number of big-time foreign drug traffickers.

Gen. Carlos has cited the PNP-DEG’s major contribution to the government’s war on drugs which has led to a significant crime reduction over the past five years.

From April 1, 2020 to last March 31 alone, the PNP-DEG under Brig. Gen. Medina accounted for around P9.3 billion worth of shabu and other illegal drugs following 110 “intelligence-driven” anti-narcotics operations.

Those operations resulted in the arrest of 147 known HVTs and the killing of 16 armed suspects following gunbattles with undercover officers.

Amid criticisms against the aggressive illegal drug operations launched by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in July 2016, Gen. Carlos said ordinary Filipinos are already feeling the effects of the successful illegal drug operations.

According to him, the successful anti-illegal drug operations in the past five years have already resulted in an unprecedented 64% reduction in crime in the country.

The PNP has always maintained that most of the crime incidents in the country are related to illegal drug abuse, a position that was vindicated by the continuous and significant reduction of crime in the country in the last five years.

From April 1, 2021 to last March 31, the PNP-DEG led the police force in accounting for 1.5 tons of shabu, nearly two kilos of Ephedrine, 21,600 pieces of Nubain ampules, 3,000 pieces of the designed drug called “Ecstasy” and over 100,000 pieces of fully-grown marijuana plants and seedlings as well as several kilos of dried marijuana bricks and “kush” which is a high-breed of cannabis.

Brig. Gen. Medina said the huge volume of prohibited drugs was accounted for during 42 major “intelligence-driven” anti-narcotics operations, which led to the confiscation of six illegal firearms.

Medina said that of the P203 million worth of dangerous drugs they accounted for, nearly 2.5 tons of them were shabu and the rest were dried marijuana plants, seedlings, leaves, and cannabis oil.

Aside from the PNP and the PDEA headed by Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva, officers from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) were also involved in the successful anti-drug operations during the period in review.

Gen. Carlos vowed to further step up the campaign against illegal drugs through strong coordination and good working relationships with other government agencies, particularly the PDEA, the lead agency in the drug war.

One of the major intelligence-driven operations jointly conducted by agents of the PDEA and the PNP in Bacoor City in Cavite led to the neutralization of four HVTs in the country and the seizure of around 229 kilograms of shabu worth nearly P1.6 billion.

Recovered during the first operation were 181 kilograms of shabu worth P1.25 billion, the buy-bust money, and firearms used by the suspects in trading shots with officers.

A follow-up operation in Imus City, Cavite, led to the arrest of two other suspects and the confiscation of 48 kilograms of shabu worth P331.2 million.

Four Chinese nationals were killed in a shootout with government agents, while three were arrested. Confiscated from the suspects were 580 kilograms of shabu worth P3.944 billion.

The successive anti-drug operations spearheaded by the PDEA were the biggest undertaken by the Duterte administration so far this year in line with the government’s massive war on drugs.