THE Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership has assured President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. of a more tougher campaign versus criminality specifically illegal drugs and terror and corruption in the next six years.

In particular, PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr. has vowed that under the Marcos administration, they would continue a more aggressive crackdown on illegal drug trafficking and on the drug supply and drug reduction programs of the force.

The Department of Interior and Local Government said that the PNP’s firm commitment and implementation of its anti-illegal drugs campaign, crime rate reduction measures and internal cleansing efforts are key foundations and contributions of the department to the former Duterte administration.

“Through the PNP’s steadfast fulfillment of its mandate to protect the Filipino people in areas such as anti-illegal drugs, internal cleansing, and crime rate reduction, the Duterte administration has delivered its promises to the people who have voted for him in 2016. PNP has truly been an active contributor to the DILG’s accomplishment in its peace and order advocacies,” former DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said.

The PNP has been active in its peace and order campaign especially its anti-illegal drugs initiatives which has led to more than P88.83-billion worth of confiscated drugs, shabu, controlled precursors and essential chemical, and laboratory equipment from July 2016 to March 2022.

The DILG said that in the course of six years under the Duterte administration, 336,796 individuals linked to illegal drugs were arrested through more than 230,000 anti-illegal drugs operations conducted nationwide. Among these, 14,888 high value targets were likewise imprisoned.

It added that 4,307 children aged 4 to 17 who were involved in illegal drugs were rescued and 1,053 government workers were arrested in anti-illegal drugs operations across the country.

In coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the PNP seized 11,788.33 kgs. of shabu; 10,157.27 kgs. of marijuana dried leaves; 163,295 pieces of ecstasy; and, 530.24 kgs. of cocaine during the past six years. It also smashed a total of 1,111 drug dens and clandestine laboratories during the period.

The PNP crime reduction measures were likewise evident during the Duterte administration as crimes against persons such as murder, homicide, and physical injury together with crimes against properties such as robbery, theft, and carnapping have seen a significant decline in the past six years, the DILG said.

Based on PNP data, from more than 6,000 cases in July 2016, murders committed in the country have slimmed down to 983 as of March 2022 with physical injury tallying 1,172 cases, a huge decline compared to its 2016 data of 17,988. Robbery cases also decreased to 1,240 from 9,413 cases in July 2016.

This, the DILG said can be attributed to the police organization’s intensified crime prevention initiatives founded on maximized police visibility dedicating 564,777,443 man-hours on police beat/foot and mobile patrols in performing 24-hour police operations, anti-criminality campaigns and public safety services; deployment of more police officers in conflict-affected areas; and various innovations in crime-fighting mechanisms such as ‘On Calls Responded for Police Assistance Program’ where 424,287 calls were responded to by police officers within 15 minutes.

The crime volume also witnessed a steady decline in the past six years leading to 49,383 in March 2022 compared to 292,589 in July 2016 when President Duterte assumed leadership of the country.

The PNP’s internal cleansing program has also seen a steady effort of the PNP to ensure that its ranks are cleared of erring police officers and scalawags.

The PNP from 2016 to last June dismissed 3,632 rogues in uniform and suspended 3,147 others for various criminal and administrative offenses.

Another 9,408 erring police personnel were also reprimanded or demoted during the period.