President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday charged members of the national and regional peace and order councils with dealing with cases of political violence as well as those stemming from the illegal drug trade, which he described as the country's two biggest threats to peace and order.
In his address to the first Joint National Peace and Order Council and Regional Peace and Order Council Meeting 2023 in Malacaang, President Marcos stated that the event is timely as his government deals with increased violent actions, particularly following last year's election.
He also warned against the emergence of warlordism, saying that peace and order councils must focus on reducing the proliferation of illicit or loose firearms that feed bloodshed in the country.
The other major issue affecting the country today in terms of peace and order is violence perpetrated by drug syndicates fighting for territory, with the cooperation of some police officers, he said.
The first Joint NPOC and RPOC Clusters' Meeting was arranged to provide updates on the country's peace and order challenges, and aid policy choices, and promote quick action by interested authorities.
The government disbanded 67 guerilla fronts, neutralized 8,645 Communist Terrorist Groups (CTG), and facilitated the surrender of 28,713 rebel members through anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism efforts, in conjunction with the revitalized National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
From 2016 to 2022, the government reported a total of 261,642 anti-illegal drug operations, resulting in the arrest of 376,582 drug personalities and the seizure of 12 tons of marijuana, 14 tons of shabu, 190,324 pieces of ecstasy, and 500 kilograms of cocaine.
In terms of general peace and order, the government announced that the total crime volume in 2022 fell by 11.87 percent, from 235,059 in 2021 to 207,143.
Meanwhile, it is stated that by the end of 2022, crime solution and criminal clearance efficiency will be at 82.28 percent and 96.72 percent, respectively.

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PBBM orders POCs to address political violence, illegal drugs