No missed opportunities in Duterte’s war on drugs, Palace insists

FILE PHOTO: Nanette Castillo grieves over the dead body of her son Aldrin, an alleged drug user killed by unidentified assailants in Manila in this October 2017 photo. AFP

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has no missed opportunities in his bloody war against illegal drugs, acting spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Tuesday.

Nograles was reacting to a remark of presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson, who called Duterte’s anti-drug campaign “sayang” (unfortunate).

“Unang-una, pinagbabawal natin ang EJK, bawal po ‘yan. Bawal ang any extra-judicial means at ‘yung kung sinoman ang kailangan parusahan, kung sino man ang naakusahan, kung sino man ang gumawa ng ganu’n ay ipo-prosecute natin. Kahit du’n sa Department of Justice (DOJ) at sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) ay mayroon na pong umuusad [na] wheels of justice natin against anybody accused of any [extrajudicial] killings,” Nograles explained.

(First, we do not allow EJK. Extra-judicial means are prohibited and whoever is needed to be punished, accused, and who resorted to that will be prosecuted. Wheels of justice [are] moving in the DOJ and NBI against anybody accused of any extrajudicial killings.)

“Pangalawa po, wala pong sinayang si Pangulong Duterte dito sa laban (Second, President Duterte did not waste anything in this fight) against illegal drugs and the facts will speak for themselves,” he added.

Nograles then cited that the government was able to seize P74 billion worth of illegal drugs from July 2016 to November 2021.

Around 23,000 barangays have been cleared from illegal drugs and the government continues to pursue its campaign to rid uncleared barangays from drugs, added the Palace official.

READ: Palace asks Senate to retain P28.1B budget for NPA-cleared barangays

“Hindi po nasayang ang pagkakataon at patuloy pa rin po ang ating malawakang (The opportunities were not missed and we will continue our widespread) campaign against illegal drugs in the country,” Nograles assured.

READ: DOJ to release info on 52 drug war deaths Wednesday

Lacson said in a recent interview that the anti-drug campaign could have succeeded without having the police resort to extrajudicial means if the President was able to use his popularity among Filipinos.

READ: ‘Sayang’: Lacson laments missed opportunities in Duterte’s war on drugs, corruption

Early this year, Duterte was firm in his stance that he will never apologize for drug war fatalities as he vowed to achieve law and order.

KGA