By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday emphasized his administration’s commitment to its “bloodless war on drugs” campaign as he led the inspection of over P8.87 billion worth of “floating shabu” recently recovered by fisherfolk in various coastal towns in Luzon.
During his visit at the national headquarters of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Quezon City, the President said the intercepted illegal drugs is already the largest drug haul in the country in the past six months—for a total of at least P62 billion shabu seized in the past three years of the Marcos administration.
“It has been described as a bloodless war on drugs. And this is what we are aiming for. But nonetheless, despite the fact that we do not kill people that are just suspected of having anything to do with drugs, imbis na ganoon ang ginagawa natin, we are handling the drug problem in a different way,” Marcos said.
This different approach to the drug problem in the country, according to Marcos, saved numerous lives by preventing the contraband from reaching the public.
“Mas [pinatitibay] natin ang ating prevention. Tapos mas [pinatitibay] natin ang ating rehabilitasyon. ‘Pag nasabit na sa droga ang tao, tinutulungan natin na mabitawan niya ‘yang bisyo na ‘yan,” he said.
The President also reiterated his instruction to law enforcement agencies to continue the war on drugs, targeting both large syndicates to street-level pushers as well as monitoring the country’s coastlines and maritime routes for possible drug smuggling attempts—stressing on doing it “in a peaceful way.”
“So, that is what we are continuing to do. We are hitting the drug trade at the highest level and at the lowest level. And we are beginning to see some measure of success. Kaya [ipagpapatuloy] natin ito,” he said.
Before ending his speech, the Chief Executive also urged the media to witness the destruction of the seized illegal drugs in Capas, Tarlac on Wednesday to ensure transparency and prevent them from going back to the black market.
Aside from shabu, about P609 million worth of assorted dangerous drugs will also be destroyed under court orders.
“So, what we will do now ay titiyakin natin ay ang proper disposal nitong mga drogang ito para hindi babalik sa black market. Hindi babalik sa street market. Basta hindi na lalabas, sisirain na natin,” Marcos said.
“I would suggest that the press attend that. Watch the testing. You make it transparent para makita ng taumbayan na ‘yong ating ginagawa,” he added.
-jpv
