43 SACKS OF SUSPECTED SHABU, AN ABANDONED SPEEDBOAT, AND TWO CHINESE NATIONALS ARRESTED IN OCCIDENTAL MINDORO

A twin-engine speedboat ran aground along the shore of Barangay Harrison in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro on the afternoon of March 10, 2026. No one was at the wheel. Two men — later described as appearing to be of Chinese descent — were spotted near the vessel by residents, who called the nearby military patrol base. When soldiers arrived, the two men ran.

Inside the boat, troops found 43 sacks packed with a white crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as shabu.

HOW MUCH WAS FOUND — AND THE NUMBERS DON'T AGREE

What happened next is where the reports diverge sharply.

The Philippine Army's 2nd Infantry Division, through public affairs officer Col. Michael Aquino, placed the weight at approximately 876 kilograms. At that figure, Philstar reported the estimated value at P5.9 billion.

ABS-CBN reported P5.8 billion in an earlier dispatch.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency arrived at a different figure entirely: approximately 2.2 metric tons — or 2,200 kilograms — valued at nearly P14.96 billion, according to Inquirer reporting citing PDEA's estimate.

Brig. Gen. Melencio Ragudo, commander of the 203rd Infantry Brigade, gave the broadest range. In a phone interview with reporters, Ragudo estimated the value at P17 billion to P20 billion based on current market rates. SunStar reported P17 billion as the lead figure from that same briefing.

Brigada Philippines put the figure at nearly P20 billion on Facebook.

The weight and valuation discrepancies between the Army's initial count and the PDEA figure are not yet resolved in public reporting. Laboratory testing and a final inventory are still pending.

THE ARRESTS

The two men initially fled into forest and mountainous terrain near the shoreline. Maj. Gen. Ramon Zagala, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, confirmed in media interviews that the suspects appeared to be of Chinese descent, though he said that still needed to be confirmed at the time.

Following a manhunt, both Chinese nationals were later apprehended in a follow-up operation in Paluan proper, according to Philstar and ABS-CBN. Their arrest was reported on March 11, the day after the initial discovery.

Both the suspects and the seized drugs are being turned over to the Philippine National Police and PDEA for documentation, charging, and confirmatory laboratory testing. Authorities noted the remote coastal villages of Paluan are largely accessible only by sea.

Recovered alongside the drugs: a Starlink satellite communication device, mobile phones, hand flares, fire extinguishers, life jackets, and lifebuoys.

WHERE THIS SITS IN CONTEXT

If the PDEA figure of 2.2 metric tons holds, this seizure would potentially rival or surpass the P13.3 billion haul in Alitagtag, Batangas in April 2024 — which the Marcos administration described at the time as the largest drug bust in Philippine history, based on two tons seized at a highway checkpoint. That bust itself surpassed the P11 billion seizure in Infanta, Quezon in March 2022.

If the lower Army figure of 876 kilograms is the verified weight, the Mindoro seizure would still rank among the largest single busts on record — comparable to the P6.7 billion, 990-kilogram haul in Manila in October 2022 and the P10 billion naval interception off Luzon in June 2025.

The contraband bore foreign markings, according to Brig. Gen. Ragudo.

THE ICC BACKDROP

The Mindoro discovery came at a specific moment in the legal proceedings against former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court.

On February 23–27, 2026, the ICC held a confirmation of charges hearing against Duterte on charges of alleged crimes against humanity, specifically the killings that occurred during the drug war campaign he led as president. Under ICC procedure, the pre-trial chamber now has 60 days from the close of that hearing to issue a written decision on whether the case proceeds to trial.

On March 6, the ICC Appeals Chamber separately confirmed the decision upholding Duterte's continued detention.

Duterte's ICC case centers on the question of whether the killings carried out under the drug war amounted to crimes against humanity. The judges at The Hague are deciding that question at precisely the moment Philippine authorities are pulling 43 sacks of suspected shabu off a beached speedboat on a remote Mindoro coast.

The Philippine Army confirmed it is working with the police, PDEA, and other relevant government agencies on the investigation.