PNP: Over P43-B worth of illegal drugs seized under Marcos admin

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday it has confiscated P43.3 billion worth of illegal drugs in the first three years of the Marcos administration— three times higher than the record of the Duterte administration over the same period.  

This was according to PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, who noted that in the first half of the Duterte administration, where the controversial war on drugs was launched, there were P14.3 billion worth of drugs seized. 

“So talagang napakalaki ng diperensya dahil talagang nag-focus tayo doon sa mga high impact operation. Hindi lang ang Philippine National Police, kasama na diyan ang PDEA at NBI, dahil ang gusto natin talagang tumbukin--- sino ba? saan ba dumadaan ‘yang mga malalaking shipment ng drugs?,” Fajardo said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview. 

(So there is a huge difference because we really focused on the high impact operations. It’s not just the Philippine National Police, but also the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and National Bureau of Investigation because we really want to find out who are behind the big shipments of drugs and where do they enter the country.) 

Aside from big time syndicates, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier said he wants law enforcers to also go after small-scale drug dealers while strictly upholding due process in its anti-drug operations. 

Marcos also stressed that his administration would carry out the anti-drug campaign without resorting to killings—-a different approach from his predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte. 

Duterte is now detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague for charges of crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings during his administration’s war on drugs.

Fajardo said the PNP will comply with the President’s order and will focus again on street-level drug pushers and users. 

The police official said the PNP will also implement maximum police visibility on the streets.

“Ngayon, pagtutuunan natin ng parehong focus itong mga tinatawag nating mga street-level pushers and users kasi sila ‘yung nasa mga komunidad natin, sila ‘yung nandoon sa mga bara-barangay na maaaring direct sources nitong mga user natin,” Fajardo added.

(Now, we will also focus on street-level pushers and users because they are the ones in our communities, in our barangays who can be direct sources of drug users.) —RF, GMA Integrated News