Drug war ‘less bloody,’ fewer suspects resisted arrest — Bato

Members of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) police team raid a house in a Pasig City slum to serve a search warrant as part of President Duterte’s campaign against illegal drug trafficking. AFP FILE

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Monday said the government’s relaunched antidrug campaign dubbed as “Project Double Barrel Alpha, Reloaded” was “less bloody” one month after its implementation.

In a press briefing in Camp Crame, Dela Rosa said that as of this morning, 107 drug suspects were killed in police operations since the campaign was relaunched in March. If it will be multiplied to eight months, the latest figure, Dela Rosa said, would be significantly lower compared to the 2,600 deaths recorded throughout the duration of the first phase.

READ: Cagayan de Oro shows off bloodless record in drug war

The PNP chief attributed the decline to the fewer number of drug suspects who supposedly resisted arrest during police operations.

“Less bloody, so far. So far, so good. Less bloody tayo dahil kakaunti na lang ang nakipagbarilan sa ating kapulisan, kakaunti na lang ang mga drug suspects na nag-e-endanger sa buhay ng ating kapulisan. Napakalaki ng deperensya. Kung gagawin nating monthly basis ito, magiging 749 after eight months compared doon sa 2,602 after 8 months sa Double Barrel part 1,” he said.

“Meaning kaunti na lang ‘yung nanlaban, o kaya kumonti na lang yung pusher dahil marami na ang namatay. Meron talagang law of diminishing return… Ang assessment ko diyan, this has become a less bloody war on drugs. Ang basis natin itong first month, and we hope mas kokonti pa ito sa succeeding months,” Dela Rosa added.

As of Monday morning, Dela Rosa said the PNP has conducted 4,173 operations under Project Double Alpha Reloaded, arrested 7,940 drug suspects, visited 578,246 houses, and admitted 71,620 surrenderees.

President Duterte stopped the antidrug campaign in January at the height of controversy surrounding the abduction and murder of South Korean businessman Jee-Ick joo in October last year inside the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame.

Dela Rosa earlier said that the new campaign would target big-time drug suspects. CBB/rga