House Quad Committee leaders labeled former president Rodrigo Duterte's claim that drug-related crime has become more rampant under the current administration as "budol," or a scam.

Panel lead chairperson Ace Barbers argued that the Marcos administration’s "bloodless" campaign against illegal drugs has resulted in significant shabu seizures—unlike Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, which, he claimed, "gave rise to more crimes."

Barbers specifically referenced the P3.6-billion shabu seizure in a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga, in September last year, allegedly linked to a criminal syndicate led by Duterte's former economic adviser, Michael Yang.

“This crime gang, which thrived in the past, continues to cast a shadow over the Marcos administration's efforts to combat criminal activities,” Barbers emphasized. “In addition to drug smuggling, they forged documents to obtain Filipino passports and assume Filipino identities, which were then used to illegally form corporations as fronts for offshore gambling and to buy large tracts of land and other assets to launder funds."

Panel co-chair Dan Fernandez countered Duterte’s claim, saying that official records from the Philippine National Police (PNP) do not support it.

“We were scammed again. It’s clear that the crime rate is lower now than it was during the previous administration,” Fernandez said.

Data from the PNP indicated that the nationwide index crime rate has dropped to 83,059 since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in July 2022, compared to 217,830 in the first two years of Duterte’s term from 2016 to 2018. The current figure represents a 61.87 percent decrease, according to the PNP.

Incidents of murder, homicide, physical injuries, and rape decreased by 55.69 percent, while cases of robbery, theft, car theft, and other property crimes fell by 66.81 percent, dropping to 41,420 from 124,799 in the same comparative period.

Additionally, crime clearance efficiency improved by 27.13 percent, and the crime solution efficiency rate rose by 10.28 percent.

Fernandez highlighted that these impressive figures stem from the current administration's goal of rehabilitating drug suspects rather than “neutralizing” them, alluding to the term used by Duterte’s anti-drug operations implementers.

The PNP also disputed Duterte's claim, citing a substantial drop in crime rates based on the Crime Information, Reporting, and Analysis System. It added that the current anti-drug efforts have yielded "remarkable" results, with P35.6 billion in narcotics seized and 122,309 individuals arrested for drug-related offenses.

During a Senate hearing into alleged extrajudicial killings on Monday, Duterte claimed that drug-related crimes have risen since his bloody drug war ceased.

Local and international human rights organizations estimate that the death toll from Duterte’s campaign exceeded 30,000, with most victims from low-income families and communities.

The former president admitted under oath that he "takes full, legal responsibility" for his anti-drug efforts but will not offer excuses or apologies, stating that he did what he felt necessary to protect the country from illegal drugs.