MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has observed a “massive reduction” in the supply of illegal drugs since President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs started in 2016.
“Our war on drugs has been relentless since it began in 2016 and we have seen an unprecedented massive reduction in the supply of illegal drugs. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the PNP and other law enforcement units have not let up in sustaining gains we have been achieving towards the goal of eradicating the narcotics trade in the country,” PNP chief General Guillermo Eleazar said in a statement on Monday.
However, Eleazar noted that illegal acts involving drugs still continue despite the pandemic. Hence, the PNP and PDEA have carried on their operations.
“Hindi pa tapos ang laban sa droga subalit napakalaki na nang ipinagbago ng sitwasyon ng iligal na droga sa ating bansa at hindi rin maipagkakaila na ang ating tagumpay sa kampanyang ito ay nagresulta ng napakalaking pagbaba sa mga kaso ng krimen batay na rin sa datos ng inyong PNP,” Eleazar shared.
The police chief vowed to continue working with PDEA in ridding the country of illegal drug syndicates.
Based on PDEA’s latest drug war statistics, over P62.2 billion worth of illegal narcotics were seized, including P51.33-billion worth of shabu, since 2016.
Operations have likewise led to the arrest of 303,154 individuals while 6,182 drug suspects were killed.
PNP and PDEA have inked a joint memorandum circular in July that seeks to ensure that miscoordination will not happen in drug operations.(©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2021)
