Lacson: Don’t kill street pushers; arrest them

MORE DEAD Two more drug suspects were killed by unidentified gunmen along Tramo Street in Pasay City —RICHARD A. REYES/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

“Don’t kill the street pushers; arrest them.”

Senator Panfilo Lacson gave this advice to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in a Twitter post on Thursday.

“Make them lead you to the big-time suppliers, then finish the job by engaging those suppliers in a shootout,” Lacson said in a Twitter post.

“Get another street pusher and continue the cycle,” he added.

Lacson, who was PNP chief from 1999 to 2001, offered this formula so the two agencies could deal the drug trade a major blow.

The senator, in a separate statement, pointed out that during his stint at the PNP, he employed a two-pronged strategy against illegal drugs, focusing not only on the demand side but also the supply side.

This meant, he said, going after not just the pushers on the streets, but also after those supplying the illegal drugs.

Lacson had earlier urged the PDEA and Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) to focus their efforts on the so-called big fish.

The PDEA is the specialized agency implementing the government’s efforts against illegal drugs, while the DDB is the policy-making body.

While police are capable of going after street peddlers, the senator said, the two agencies should concentrate on those at the higher levels. /je