MANILA—The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) on Saturday said it was "saddened" to hear the remarks made by Vice-President Leni Robredo, who said the government's drug war is a "failure and a dent on the country's international image."

In a statement, the DDB said :"It seems that up until now, the vice president is misled in understanding the anti-drug campaign. Authorities continue to address the domestic drug issues using a holistic, balanced and comprehensive approach."

"It appears that VP Robredo is only looking at the one side of the campaign. While enforcement issues are more evident, we cannot discount the successes we have gained in the demand reduction part of the campaign," the agency added.

Robredo on Wednesday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to allow the United Nations to investigate the illegal-drugs war, and abandon it because she said it was “obviously not working.”

• Robredo says time for Duterte to stop 'failed' drug war

Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, slammed Robredo’s remark, saying her allegations lacked factual basis.

The President has faced local and international criticism for his bloody war on illegal narcotics, which human rights advocates said has claimed at least 27,000 lives since he was elected in 2016.

The Duterte government, however, said the numbers were much lower.