Duterte: Drug war failed
Credit to Author: RALPH VILLANUEVA| Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2019 19:21:46 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has admitted his administration’s war on drugs was a failure.
At a campaign rally in Malabon City on Tuesday evening, Duterte, whose promise to eradicate illegal drugs in three to six months helped him capture the presidency in 2016, said the drug problem was “swallowing” the country.
He said the drug trade even worsened even if he had ordered that drug traders be killed.
“You can read it every day, even in the crawler of the TV networks. There are billions worth of drugs. Before, it was only thousands. Drugs, I cannot control, son of a b****h, even if I ordered the deaths of these idiots,” Duterte said in remarks during the rally of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.
Duterte’s statement followed big raids by anti-narcotics agents. On March 19, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) found P1.1 billion worth of shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride in Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City. Three days later, PDEA seized P1.8 billion worth of shabu at the Manila International Container Port.
‘Worldwide problem’
Duterte, however, said the drug war was a failure because it was a “worldwide problem.”
“It’s a worldwide problem, now there are drugs even in China, Taiwan and there are a lot of others,” the President said.
Duterte added that some police officers were protecting drug traders.
“I will release a document, how the policemen are playing with drugs, the officials and why it is never-ending. Why are policemen assigned in anti-drugs back then are still in anti-drugs? The Filipino people are being played [with],” he said.
He slammed the claim that police officers were being paid to kill drug suspects.
“It is being probed by Congress, I told them, why are they tagging me with… I give them P5 million to kill… Son of a b****h, why will I pay P5 million? That is your job. You’re crazy,” he said.
In 2017, Amnesty International reported that police officers were offered up to P15,000 per drug kill, which the government denied.
Late last month, Duterte said the drug situation in the country had “worsened” and that law enforcers were close to giving up.
‘Build cases first’
Reacting to the President’s statement, Sen. Panfilo Lacson also on Wednesday said the government should build up cases against police officers allegedly involved in illegal drugs, before making public their identities.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate public order and illegal drugs committee, said he was not in favor of releasing the names of police officers in the illegal drug trade.
“In the same manner that they should not release the names of judges and other personalities without filing charges. No, I’m not in favor,” he said.
Earlier, Lacson called on the government to build up cases against politicians allegedly involved in drugs, warning of several consequences in releasing the so-called “narcolist.”
He said unveiling the political figures on the list would give them a chance to take a backseat and lie low, which would give authorities a more difficult time in doing surveillance and building up cases.
Releasing the narcolist, especially if not validated, could eventually serve as death warrants, he said.
WITH JAVIER JOE ISMAEL
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