Anti-drugs campaign to shift focus on supply side – PNP

The administration's controversial anti-drugs campaign was set to shift its focus on the suppliers of illegal drugs, the spokesperson of the Philippine National Police said on Sunday.

"Magkakaroon po ng pagre-repackage, shift of the strategy, 'yung PNP. Doon na tayo sa ngayon sa drug supply, sa mga sindikato, 'yung mga suppliers talagang ito 'yung tututukan natin," spokesperson Police Colonel Bernard Banac said on Super Radyo dzBB.

"Kailangan tutukan natin 'yung supply side. Despite ng kampanya natin laban sa iligal na droga eh bumabaha pa rin ang supply," he added.

The new strategy would be implemented this July, according to Banac.

He added that the PNP would work closely with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to track down drug suppliers.

The Duterte administration's so-called drug war has drawn criticism from the international community due to the alleged human rights violations that accompanied the war.

The PNP admitted that number of drug suspects killed while resisting arrest in police drugs operations had reached 6,600 by the end of May 2019.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet recently said that even the official drug war death toll in the Philippines "would be a matter of most serious concern for any country."

The PNP, on the other hand, welcomed Bachelet's recognition of the government's recorded count of fatalities in the anti-illegal drugs campaign and said that irregularities involving police personnel, if any, "were immediately investigated and corrected with punitive action.

Moreover, Banac said that earning back the public's trust remains a challenge.

"Isang hamon nga sa PNP ay paano maibalik ang tiwala ng mamamayan," he said.

He nevertheless emphasized that the PNP would always abide with its mandate "to serve and protect." — Dona Magsino/DVM, GMA News