CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Amid an intensified anti-illegal drug campaign, the number of crimes recorded as of last month across the country dropped by about 49 percent compared to last year, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said here Friday.

“This only goes to show that most of these crimes that are happening in our communities are drug-related. That’s why when we focused our resources and attention on the drug problem, crimes also dropped,” Dela Rosa said in a speech before hundreds of police officers at the police regional headquarters at Camp Alagar.

In Northern Mindanao, for instance, the monthly crime volume dipped by as much as 44 percent in July compared to the same month in the last two years.

In a report, PNP-10 said the crimes registered in the region in July 2014 totaled 3,983. In July 2015, the figure went down to 3,171 and to 1,974 this year.

“Our assessment points to the link and direct effect of the diminished presence of illegal drugs in the streets as a result of the intensified anti-illegal [drug] campaign,” PNP-10 spokesperson Supt. Surki Sereñas said.

Most of the prevalent crimes, Sereñas said, were usually drug-related such as theft, robbery, domestic violence, rape and all forms of abuse.

“This campaign is just starting,” Dela Rosa told the police officers and personnel.

Despite criticism from various sectors, there would be no letup in the PNP’s tough approach to fighting illegal drugs, he stressed.

“Let us continue with our campaign as long as what we are doing is in compliance with the law and respect for human rights,” he said.

Prior to his arrival at Camp Alagar, Dela Rosa attended the burial of PO3 Jerson Autiga, who was killed in a police operation to arrest suspected pusher Benito “Jojo” Bisnar in Barangay Colonia, Valencia City Wednesday night.