Target drug supply, not kill people —DILG chief Remulla

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday that targeting the supply side of illegal drugs is the better option to address the country's drug problem than resorting to extrajudicial killings. 

“The solution to the drug problem is not killing people. It is these kind operations (targeting the source) which solves the problem,” said Remulla in a press briefing. 

“Pwede naman magtrabaho nang hindi pinapatay 'yung mga maliliit na tao. Ang kailangan dito enforcement, mahuli, hindi dumating sa kalye para bumaba ang kuha ng droga,” he added. 

(We can get the job done without killing people. What we need here is enforcement, catching them and preventing [the drugs] from reaching the streets so that the supply of drugs goes down.) 

The DILG chief noted that the increase in price of illegal drugs resulted in a decline in crime. 

“Dahil umakyat ang presyo ng drugs dahil sa trabaho ng lahat ng nandito, ang seizure namin ay higit kumulang mga three tons, in one year halos three tons,” said Remulla. 

(Because the price of drugs went up due to the work of everyone here, our seizures have reached approximately three tons—in one year, nearly three tons.) 

“Yung three tons na ‘yan resulted in an increase of the price of shabu by 80%, umakyat. Umakyat ang presyo ng shabu, bumaba naman ang crime by 24%, so corresponding ‘yan.” 

(That three tons resulted in an 80% increase in the price of shabu. As the price of shabu went up, crime went down by 24%, so those are corresponding figures.) 

Authorities earlier intercepted P278-million worth of shabu from Afghanistan. The Bureau of Customs is planning to procure advanced x-ray machines to help in combating illegal drugs. —AOL, GMA Integrated News