THE bloody anti-drug campaign under former president Rodrigo Duterte failed to curb the supply and demand for illegal drugs despite thousands of deaths, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Monday, October 19, 2026.
In a television interview, Remulla said the price of shabu had nearly doubled, from P3,500 per gram during Duterte’s administration to P6,800 today, which he cited as evidence that the drug trade persisted despite Duterte’s campaign.
“Ang cost ng drugs nung panahon ni Duterte was P3,500 per gram (The cost of drugs at the time of Duterte was P3,500 per gram). Now it’s P6,800, mas mahal (more expensive),” Remulla said.
“(The supply of) Shabu did not go down under Duterte’s time, make no mistake about it. Now it’s going down,” he added.
Philippine authorities have intercepted and recovered around 17 tons of illegal drugs since 2024 under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, compared with around 13 tons seized from 2016 to 2022 under Duterte, according to government figures.
Meanwhile, a study by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center recorded at least 1,194 people killed in drug-related incidents from July 1, 2022, to March 15, 2026.
Remulla’s remarks came in the wake of the interception in Laos of an illegal drug shipment valued at P3.54 billion that was reportedly bound for the Philippines, with a Filipino allegedly serving as a drug courier.
Authorities earlier identified 11 individuals allegedly involved in the smuggling operation, including former Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament member Edrieza Nasser Rimbang.
Rimbang allegedly financed the operation, while his brother-in-law, Fahad Mulok Dibarosan, served as the courier. Dibarosan was arrested in Laos.
Remulla said Rimbang had allegedly been involved in the illegal drug trade for years but was never included in Duterte’s controversial drug list.
“To be clear, they (President Duterte and Rimbang) have pictures together. They have pictures with their raised fists together. He was a candidate under the Duterte group in the last elections,” Remulla said.
“He (Rimbang) was never on the list, but we suspect that he has a been a financier all this time. Doon nanggagaling ‘yung pera niya kasi kung makita mo sophistication ng operations niya hanggang general aviation security ng PNP may tao sila (That’s where his money comes from because, if you look at how sophisticated his operations are, they even have people within the PNP’s General Aviation Security Group),” Remulla said.
“And it is not easy to do all that, to connect all of that. Even up to Laos, they are talking to a syndicate there,” he added.
Remulla said he was willing to resign if it could be proven that the government’s facts in the case were incorrect.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency identified Police Executive Master Sergeant Aileen Mendoza as the person who allegedly arranged a private hangar in Manila where the aircraft carrying the shipment was supposed to land.
A certain Abdulahkarim Macalatas was also identified as the shipment’s consignee. (TPM)