Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 13) — Will he be able to resolve the country’s drug problem or not?
Last week, President Duterte said he needs one more year to end the drug problem.
“Wala na akong istorya pa na extrajudicial killing. It will happen if it will happen. It cannot happen, if it cannot happen. Wala akong pakialam basta sabi ko sa droga, I hope to finish the problem maybe give me just another year,” Duterte said at the mass oath-taking of Presidential Appointees in Malacañang on December 6.
[Translation: I don’t have anything else to say on extrajudicial killings. It will happen if it will happen. It cannot happen, if it cannot happen. I don’t care, but on drugs, I hope to finish the problem maybe give me just another year.]
But speaking at PDP-Laban’s benefit dinner for Marawi Wednesday, the President said he may not actually do it.
“Wag na tayong magbolahan dito. It will not end sa panahon ko. So be it yan,” he said while discussing the different kinds of illegal drugs with the audience.
[Translation: Let’s not kid ourselves. It will not end during my term. So be it.]
President Duterte in his campaign promised to end the country’s drug problem in in three to six months.
But he admitted when he was already in office that the problem was more serious than he thought with local officials and police generals involved in the illegal drug trade.
According to the PNP, the police conducted 76,863 anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to September 26, 2017.
The operations resulted in the death of 3,906 drug personalities and the arrest of 113,932. It has also caused, the death of 85 law enforcers, while 225 were injured.
It added that as of July 25, 2017, the police have facilitated over 1.3 million surrenders.
The Duterte administration’s war on drugs, the PNP said, has led to the seizure of drugs, chemicals, and lab equipment worth almost P19 billion, including about P13 billion worth of shabu.
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