By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday pledged to continue the bloodless campaign against illegal drugs in the country.
In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Chief Executive said the government’s anti-drug drive has so far resulted in the seizure of P44 billion worth of illegal drugs in more than 71,500 operations.
“Our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres and will continue to adhere to the established ‘8 Es’ of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy. Extermination was never one of them,” Marcos said.
He also said more than 97,000 drug suspects have been arrested.
Of those arrested, more than 6,000 were high-value targets. About 440 arrested drug personalities were government employees, 42 were uniformed personnel, and 77 were elected officials, Marcos said.
“To further paralyze their operations, dirty money and assets worth more than P500 million have been frozen and preserved. With strong case build-up and efficient prosecution, the drug conviction rate is at a high 79%,” he said, adding that the number of drug-affected barangays in the country has been reduced by 32%.
Peace and order
The President also said that “lessons from history and current events” taught Filipinos that peace and order is an essential ingredient of genuine prosperity and social development.
“Despite difficulties, despite our diversity and differences as a people, we are joined together by a unique history, and have constantly invested our energies and resources in strengthening the pillars of peace,” he said.
Marcos said law enforcement bodies, such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), undergo continuous capacity-building and asset upgrading to preserve the peace and defend the country’s territory.
“We have noted an overall decrease in crime rate and an improvement in crime solution efficiency. But this is not enough. Our law enforcers need to earn the trust of our people,” he said.
Interior Sec. Benjamin Abalos Jr. also touted the success of the Marcos administration’s anti-drug campaign.
“’Yong mga dapat mahuli, we go against the big ones (high-value targets). ’Yon ang ginagawa ng PNP, PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation). But higit sa lahat, dapat may rehabilitation,” Abalos said.
Peaceful SONA
Meanwhile, the President’s third SONA ended with no untoward incident and was “generally peaceful.”
In a report, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Police Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said they monitored an estimated 7,510 individuals, including about 3,010 anti-Marcos protesters who positioned themselves as early as 6 a.m. along Tandang Sora Avenue, Quezon City.
These groups persisted in airing their grievances and demands to the government.
Based on the continuous situation report from the deployed personnel along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, approximately 4,500 pro-government protesters were also present.
Nartatez said voicing their support for the programs of the current administration, these groups conducted their activities in adherence to policies and laws, declaring this year’s event as “safe, peaceful, and orderly” with no untoward incident reported.
“We highly appreciate the cooperation of the numerous organizations and rally organizers who respected their limits, as well as the public as a whole. This cooperative spirit contributed to the smooth and peaceful outcome of SONA 2024,” he added.