By NG Seruela
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte vowed to fight drugs, corruption, and criminality when he was elected president in 2016.
In his five years in office, President Duterte has kept his promise to protect his fellow Filipinos against the effects of drugs on the country and its citizens.
“When I assumed office, I committed to end this problem at the soonest possible time,” he said in his sixth and last State of the Nation Address (SONA). “ We launched an unprecedented war against the illegal drugs and to destroy their apparatus that permeated every level and sector of society.”
In his addresses, the Chief Executive reiterates how the drug problem in the country has destroyed families and degraded the “moral fiber of our society” for several decades.
“If you want to destroy a family, look for… [a] member or a resident of that family home, bigyan mo ng droga. ‘Pag nandiyan na ‘yung droga at they are hooked, and that is the end. Sometimes families are separated because of drugs, becomes dysfunctional, at ‘yung mga asawa magpunta doon sa abroad, ‘ika nga, to look for jobs.”
Strengthened security forces
The President pointed out that before his administration, the police force had been “overwhelmed by criminality and the drug trade problem,” pushing him to prioritize the strengthening of the institution and boost their morale.
In line with this, the country “waged war on the manufacturers, the financiers, the suppliers, the peddlers, and the entire syndicates, and, more importantly, their protectors in government. We have rescued and reformed drug dependents…by [launching] interventions and building facilities not only for their rehabilitation, but also to prepare them to reintegrate into society.”
Moreover, with the improved security forces, the “unyielding campaign led to the surrender of millions of drug dependents; and neutralization, capture, and prosecution of thousands of drug personalities; the dismantling of illegal drugs and syndicates and the drug laboratories; the extensive drug-[clearing] of communities down to the barangay-level, and the cutting of narco politics.”
War on drugs
Based on Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) data from July 1, 2016 to April 30, 2021, it has seized a total of ₱59.14 billion worth of drugs and laboratory equipment.
The total number of anti-illegal drug operations conducted is 200,632, with 289,622 persons arrested and 6,117 persons who died during anti-drug operations. The PDEA also reported that a total of 12,069 high-value targets were arrested from July 1, 2016 to April 30, 2021.
Moreover, it reported that 21,891 barangays were drug-cleared out of a total of 42,045.
Meanwhile, in his latest report on the drug war on Aug, 15, Interior Sec. Eduardo Año said they have conducted a total of 765 anti-illegal drug operations where six individuals have surrendered and 1,070 have been arrested, for a total of ₱48,790,599 worth of shabu and marijuana confiscated for the past week.
Duterte said in his sixth SONA that the fight against the proliferation of drugs in the country “still has a long way” to go. However, the administration has created a large dent with its war against drugs.
“I am a Filipino and I love my country. I do not want my country in disarray because of drugs. I do not want families to break up and become dysfunctional. Iyon ang masakit sa akin,” Duterte emphasized. – jlo
