Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 14) — Under the Marcos administration, 46 drug suspects have been killed in 18,000 anti-drug operations conducted by law enforcers nationwide, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.
PNP chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. told reporters that they have arrested over 22,000 suspected offenders and confiscated around ₱9.7 billion-worth of drugs in the operations since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. took office in June.
Out of the 46 killed, Azurin said 32 drug suspects died in PNP operations while 14 lost their lives in missions of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
This was lower than what the Human Rights Watch reported in September. It cited 72 drug-related killings in its policy paper submitted to member-states of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Marcos said he will continue his predecessor’s war on illegal drugs but will focus more on prevention and rehabilitation.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war has claimed over 6,000 lives, mostly of the urban poor, including 17-year-old Kian delos Santos. Human rights groups have cited a higher count.
Under his watch, Azurin said the PNP will review previously-issued policies in conducting the country’s anti-drug campaign to see if “they are still relevant.”
“We already reached the drug awareness, we are now shifting to rehabilitation and education so that they would know that the government is offering a rehabilitation package,” Azurin said.
According to Azurin, Marcos has given them instructions to keep arresting drug pushers but stressed that they should undergo rehabilitation and education under the PNP’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Operation Through Reinforcement and Education (ADORE). This is to give them the chance to start anew when they return to society, he said.
ADORE, as the anti-drug program of PNP, was introduced in the latter part of Duterte’s term.
Azurin said drug awareness was the goal of PNP’s command memorandum circular that set forth the anti-illegal drugs guidelines in Duterte’s administration, including the house-to-house visitations or the “Oplan Tokhang.”
He, however, said he instructed law enforcers “never to use excessive force” in conducting drug operations to uphold the rights to judicial process, but emphasized that the police should not “endanger their lives” as well.
Meanwhile, Azurin said the agency is still investigating 3,577 PNP personnel for alleged abuses while on duty, including misconduct in the implementation of the drug war.
This number was only from 2019 to 2021, he clarified, and gave assurance the PNP will be reporting the latest number.
The extrajudicial killings in the country’s drug war, along with other human rights violations, have been slammed by the UN.
The UNHCR is set to assess the country’s human rights record in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Philippines in Geneva, Switzerland on Nov. 14. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla will lead the national delegation.
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