De Lima seeks probe of gains, shortcomings of Duterte's war on drugs

Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday filed a resolution pushing the Senate to pursue an investigation into the "significant gains, shortcomings, and accountabilities" of the Duterte administration's controversial anti-drug campaign.

In the resolution, de Lima said there had been no notable achievements in neutralizing drug syndicates in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war  "despite billions of pesos in intelligence funds." She said only low-level drug peddlers are being targeted.

“Before this administration’s term comes to an end, it behooves the Senate to evaluate the results or performance of one of the centerpiece programs of this government not only to determine the effectiveness of the program but also to hold accountable those who used this program as a cover for corruption and abuses,” she added.

The detained senator also cited that the government has yet to catch Peter Lim, one of the biggest drug dealers. Lim, who is also on the INTERPOL watchlist, has a P500,000 bounty and an arrest warrant in Makati City court over a case for conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading.

To date, authorities are still verifying Lim's whereabouts.

Duterte's drug war "offered little significant gains in stopping distribution of narcotics" but it also perpetrated violence which caught the eye of international human rights agencies, the senator also said.

Last month, the International Criminal Court started accepting concerns from victims in the fatal drug war, which will be one of its basis to push through a possible probe into the alleged crimes against humanity in the narcotics campaign. —NB, GMA News