President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed fear that the drug trade will continue in the country because of the huge amount of money involved, as he asked law enforcers to maintain the ongoing fight against the proliferation of illegal drugs.
Duterte made the remarks during his Talk to the People program aired on Monday night, saying the current drug transactions now run into billions of pesos and the country only has a small window to operate.
“There is a little window to operate and the good thing is that our institutions are there really. I still trust the police. If there are scalawags, into drugs—a few of them. And yet the police had to police its own ranks,” he said.
Aside from the police, he also called on the military to throw its support in the drug fight, stressing the danger posed by illegal narcotics especially to the young generation of Filipinos.
However, Duterte said he is putting his trust in the next administration to continue his fight against illegal drugs, otherwise “we are finished as a nation.”
“I trust that the next administration will also do its very best to confront the problem with drugs. Otherwise, we will end up killing each other again,” he said.
He again advised the law enforcers not to be intimidated by the powerful drug personalities.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año reported that law enforcement agencies such as Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have conducted a total of 1,772 anti-drug operations in the last two weeks and confiscated less than P1 billion worth of shabu and marijuana.
As a result of those operations, 69 people surrendered to the authorities while 2,463 were arrested. Four individuals lost their lives during the operations.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday meanwhile said he is willing to help the incoming administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in its fight against illegal drugs.
In a recent meeting with Marcos, Sotto said he told the incoming Chief Executive that they can count on his help with regards to the government’s fight against dangerous drugs.
Sotto, however, said he and Marcos did not discuss about a possible Cabinet position for him during their meeting held last May 28, adding that “was just asking about my plans.”
Sotto ran for vice president under of the Nationalist People’s Coalition and in tandem with fellow senator and presidential bet Panfilo Lacson in the May 9 elections but lost to former Davao City mayor Sara Duterte, Marcos’ running mate.
He also mentioned he want to lead the Dangerous Drugs Board or Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and have complete control of enforcement and rehabilitation programs. With Joel E. Zurbano
