PNP chief says anti-drug campaign to be ‘recalibrated, rights-based’

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said they were “recalibrating” their anti-drug campaign to “ensure a humane and rights-based approach.”

On Wednesday, Marbil told the media, “The mission is clear: to conduct intensified operations, ensure successful prosecution, and foster public awareness on the harmful effects of drugs in close partnership with our communities.”

“This is not merely a policing effort but a holistic approach aimed at achieving a drug-free Philippines by 2030,” he added.

The new plan emphasizes specialized training and international collaboration, community engagement, and streamlining cooperation between the national and local governments to maintain public trust.

The PNP Drug Enforcement Group was tasked with developing the new approach.

Marbil added that the plan “draws on the hard-earned lessons from the past, acknowledging the sacrifices of thousands of police officers who bore the brunt of enforcement efforts.”

The national police chief distinguished the new plan as a “clear, strategic direction that aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for a humane and effective approach to solving the drug problem.”

In his third State of the Nation Address last July, Marcos said his administration’s anti-drug campaign was “bloodless.”

READ: Marcos report on ‘bloodless’ antidrug drive disputed

Researchers at the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, however, disputed the claim, saying they tallied around 700 drug-related killings since Marcos assumed office in June 2022.

The PNP’s “recalibration” comes after explosive allegations by an ex-police officer that Marcos’ predecessor, President Rodrigo Duterte, implemented a system to reward cops for killing drug suspects.

At the House of Representatives’ quad committee inquiry into the anti-drug campaign last October 11, retired colonel Royina Garma said that when he rose to power and waged his bloody war on drugs, Duterte tapped National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to apply the “Davao template” across the country.

READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH

Last November 10, amid allegations of a system rewarding cops for killing drug suspects under President Rodrigo Duterte, Marbil said that police officers themselves were affected in the line of duty, citing 312 deaths and 974 injuries.

READ: PNP: Over 1,200 cops faced challenges during Duterte’s drug war

Over 12,000 Filipinos, however, were killed in Duterte’s brutal anti-drug campaign, 2,555 of which were said to be at the hands of police officers, according to an estimate from the international non-government organization Human Rights Watch.