MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. on Monday warned police personnel still involved in the illegal drug trade to stop or he will “change” their lives.
Danao said this during Monday’s flag ceremony at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, as he reported the recent confiscation of more than 27 kilograms of crystal meth, locally knows as “shabu.”
“Yung mga iba dyan, na hanggang ngayon ay ayaw tumigil sa pag proliferate ng illegal na droga. I would like to address this to the men in uniform of the [PNP]. Meron pa rin sa atin, mangilan-ngilan, I’m giving you stern warning, nakiki-usap ako sa inyo, please put a stop to these illegal drug menace,” Danao said.
(Some of you until now do not want to stop being involved in the proliferation of illegal drugs. I would like to address this to the men in uniform of the [PNP]. Some of us, only a small number, are still doing this. I’m giving you a stern warning, I am pleading to you, please put a stop to these illegal drug menace,” Danao said.
“I’m giving you a stern warning. Ayaw ninyong magbago? Babaguhin ko ‘yong buhay ninyo, kung hindi ninyo babaguhin, palitan ko ‘yong birthday ninyo. Hindi ako nagbibiro,” he added.
(I’m giving you a stern warning. You don’t want to change? I will change your life, if you would not change your ways, I would just change your birthdays. I am not joking.)
Danao said he knows those who have been accused of participating in the illicit activity, adding that he would go after them whether he gets promoted as a PNP chief or not.
“Nakiki-usap ako sa inyo, kung nakalusot na kayo d’yan at hindi kayo nahuli, pasalamat kayo, hangga’t suot ko ‘tong uniporme na ‘to, matuloy man ako na mag-four star o hindi, you take note gentlemen, kilala ko kayo,” he said.
(I am pleading to you, if you were able to elude arrest before, just be thankful, because as long as I am wearing this uniform, whether I go on to have four stars or not, you take note gentlemen, I know who you are.)
In a press briefing after his flag ceremony speech, Danao explained that his message came from unvalidated reports claiming that some officers are linked to drug trafficking.
“There’s still one, paisa-isa na napaka-titigas ng ulo niyo. You will reap what you want, I’m telling you. Ngayon, ‘pag ayaw niyo talagang magbago sabi ko nga, ay ibibigay ko ang gusto ninyo. Meron pa ring paisa-isa although these are unvalidated reports, sana naman ay hindi totoo, at sana naman ihinto na natin kung meron man,” he said.
(There are still a few who are really hard-headed. You will reap what you want, I’m telling you. Now, if you really do not want to change your ways, as I have said, I will give you what you want. There are still some involved although these are unvalidated reports, which I wish are not true, and that they stop the illegal things they are doing.)
“Yung mga iba kasi rito, allegedly, involved pa rin sa illegal activities at lalong-lalo na sa iligal na droga. Anyway paisa-isa na lang naman ito, so I just hope na hindi totoo,” he added.
(Some of the police, allegedly, are still involved in illegal activities especially with illegal drugs. Anyway, these are just isolated cases, so I just hope these are not true.)
According to Danao, he received some of the reports during his stint as National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief.
“Alam niyo kasi I was assigned in NCRPO eh, and meron pa rin d’yan mangilan-ngilan although these are unvalidated reports, pero sabi ko nga just to give a fair warning to everyone not to be involved. This is addressed to all members, be it general, down to the lowest rank of PO1 and NUP. I would like to give you a fair warning, take note, stern and fair warning to everyone,” he added.
(You know I was assigned in NCRPO, and there are some unvalidated reports, but I just said that it was meant to give a fair warning to everyone not to be involved. This is addressed to all members, be it general, down to the lowest rank of PO1 and NUP. I would like to give you a fair warning, take note, stern and fair warning to everyone.)
The “drug war” has been a landmark campaign of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, who ran in 2016 on a promise to rid the streets of illegal drugs in three to six months.
Duterte and his allies have earned criticisms for the bloody and brutal anti-drug campaign, as critics also asserted it failed to remove proliferation of illegal drugs in country. The administration, however, countered this by stressing that no administration has placed this much focus on the drug problem.
A government data showed that as of February, more than 6,235 drug suspects have been killed in legitimate anti-drug operations after supposedly fighting it out against authorities.