New drug lord in Eastern Visayas emerging – Bato

FILE – PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

A new drug lord is emerging in Eastern Visayas despite President Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said on Monday.

De la Rosa said at a press conference that this alleged new drug lord was not yet included on the President’s list of narcopoliticians. There is also another suspected drug lord who was already on the list.

Asked if this development only showed that the illegal drugs problem is a cyclic phenomenon that could not be solved through neutralization of personalities, de la Rosa replied: “That’s economics of life.”

De la Rosa compared the situation with PNP’s own erring policemen. Despite the PNP’s Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF) arresting policemen for extortion, there are police officers who seem not to be scared and bothered by the campaign.

“Why don’t they want to change? So it’s the same with the drug lords? And it’s more tempting with the drug syndicates because they are talking about a billion peso industry. The policemen, they will find ways to extort P1,000; P2,000; P3,000. No one would easily give up a billion peso industry,” de la Rosa said in Filipino.