WAR ON DRUGS A police investigator inspects the body of a suspected victim of extrajudicial killing. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The fight against illegal drugs will be easier for the country’s next president thanks to the “war on drugs” of President Rodrigo Duterte, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said Wednesday.
“Ang mahalaga dito ay ‘yung maintindihan natin na ‘yung war on drugs ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte ay nagresulta sa pagbaba ng crime volume by 64 percent at napakataas niyan,” Andanar said on Politiko’s Politiskoop.
(What is important is to understand that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s war on drugs resulted in the decline in crime volume by 64 percent and that is very significant.)
“Depende ‘yan sa susunod na presidente kung paanong istilo ang gusto niya sa pagpapatigil but definitely, mas madali na lang ang trabaho ng susunod na presidente para sa pagsugpo o sa pagkontrol ng drugs,” he added.
(It depends on the next president on how he/she will curb drugs but definitely, the job of the next president in eradicating or controlling drugs would be much easier.)
According to Andanar, over 1.2 million drug users underwent rehabilitation, P61 billion worth of dangerous drugs were seized, and the majority of local drug dens were closed.
However, Duterte’s bloody drug war reaped criticisms from human rights groups, as well as allegations of extrajudicial killings.
“Now, of course you get all of these complaints, the human rights—mga (these) human rights advocacy groups na tutol dito, pero ganu’n naman ‘yan (that are against this, but that’s how it is). In any policy, meron naman talagang kokontra diyan (there are always critics),” said Andanar.
“Pero what’s important to us is that bumaba ‘yung ating crime volume at lumakas ang kumpiyansa ng ating kababayan sa kapulisan,” he continued.
(But, what’s important to us is that crime volume dropped and the public’s confidence in the police was restored .)
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, since Duterte’s drug war started in 2016, the death toll stood at 6,215 as of October 2021.