By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday that the recent seizure of illegal drugs and arrest of one suspect in Batangas — considered to be the biggest drug haul in Philippine history — is proof that the government‘s bloodless approach to the drug war is working.
Marcos personally inspected the 1.8-ton methamphetamine haul, locally known as shabu, in Alitagtag, Batangas which is estimated to be worth P13.3 billion in street value.
“This is the biggest shipment of shabu na nahuli natin, but not one person died. Walang namatay, walang nagputukan, walang nasaktan. Basta’t in-operate natin nang dahan-dahan, ‘yun naman dapat ang approach,” he said.
The President said that respecting human rights in drug war operations is paramount under his administration’s campaign against illegal drugs .
“Para sa akin, ‘yun dapat ang approach sa drug war na ang pinaka-importante is matigil natin ang pag-ship ng mga drugs dito sa pagpasok sa Pilipinas,” he said.
Authorities are now tracing the source of the illegal drugs, Marcos said, pointing out that they were not locally manufactured.
“Pero the one thing that’s clear, pinasok ito, hindi ito galing dito sa Pilipinas,” he added.
He also assured the public that the government will run after illegal drug syndicates, including those who are powerful or those who are connected with politicians.
“This is the approach that we are taking to drug war. Ang ating ginagawa, we take apart, binabaklas natin ‘yung mga sindikato, kahit sinuman ang nakita natin may kasabwat, may kasabwat dito sa drug trade kahit sinuman,” he said.
The Chief Executive said “there is no silver bullet” to eradicating the drug problem in the country, that’s why a change in tactics against drugs is not on the horizon.
Citing the recent drug haul, Marcos said that he will not change the approach of the administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“So, it’s the most successful approach to the drug war so far. So, why will we change it? We won’t change it; we’ll continue to do what we are doing,” he said.
According to Police Maj. Luis de Luna Jr., the police officer who led the operation, the drugs were intercepted from a passenger van by the police at a checkpoint in Barangay Pinagkrusan on Monday.
“Mayroon po kaming regular checkpoint na isinasagawa dito sa Bayan ng Alitagtag, as part of the intensified crime prevention. So, part of it, pina-flag down po namin ang mga sasakyan,” De Luna told reporters.
“Kung mayroong suspicious, sina-subject po namin for inspection po. Kagaya po ng nangyari dito sa pangyayaring ito, ‘yun po ang naging resulta, nasabat po namin ang ganitong kalaking halaga po ng shabu po,” he added.
De Luna was given a spot promotion by Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. from police captain to major following the success of the operation.
The driver of the van, who was charged for violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, is currently under police custody.
Authorities said the recent biggest drug haul surpassed the previous record of 1,589 teabags of shabu worth P11 billion seized in Infanta, Quezon in March 2022.
According to Malacañang, a total of 36,803 operations were conducted from July 2022 to December 2023 — resulting in the arrest of 49,700 drug suspects, including some 3,284 individuals considered as high value targets.
At least 314,917 drug dependents underwent a community-based rehabilitation program while about 1,854 persons graduated from Balay Silangan Reformation Centers.
Latest government data also showed that 67.24% or 28,243 barangays nationwide are already “drug-cleared” and 14.59% or 6,127 are “drug-free”.
On the other hand, 0.86% or 363 barangays are still “drug affected”, while 17.30% or 7,268 have yet to be cleared. – avds
