The drug menace in the country cannot be fixed in a single term, Philippine President Rodrigo admitted, saying that even the competent United States has been struggling against it.
Duterte won the May 2016 presidential elections with a vow to completely crush the illegal drugs trade in the country. In a forum last week, the president, however, acknowledged that the problem cannot be completely solved in just six years.
“Look itong shabu, ang drugs, etc. (Look, shabu and drugs), cannot be solved by one man, for a president for one term,” he said.
He noted that even the U.S. is not drug free, and in fact, has been facing a “far worse” situation than the Philippines.
“It has bugged nations, hindi nga kaya ng Amerika, tayo pa (America can’t even control it, then what about us)?,” Duterte remarked.
He went on to say, “America is under siege because of drugs. And they are far worse than us. Yes, of course, they do not admit it. Pero (But) until now, I said, they’re fighting a useless war there that never ends. And the sad part of it is that most of the drugs are provided by their good neighbors.”
Duterte’s so-called drug war has brought thousands of deaths to “drug personalities”— the total figure is hotly disputed. Several reports claimed numbers reaching around 7,000 since Duterte came into power, while his administration said only around half were killed in legitimate police operations.
Human rights groups and several international communities repeatedly condemned the president’s “brutal” campaign, but Duterte maintained the he won’t back down in the fight against what he described as menace that destroys the Philippines and its people.
In a recent speech, Duterte threatened to suspend mayors who failed to address the illegal drugs in their cities.
“As mayors, you have the authority over the police. If you cannot control drugs in your city, I will just suspend you. Just take a vacation,” the president said during the 19th anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) on Wednesday, August 16.
Likewise, he warned local executives in Mindanao that they may lose their police powers if they failed to curb narcotics in the area.
Weeks after the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Maute group laid siege of Marawi City in Mindanao last May, the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) stripped seven governors and 132 mayors in Mindanao of police power for allegedly abusing their authorities, conspiring with criminals, and failing to prevent terrorism and lawless violence.
“They do not have police power. I will return it to them after the conflict. But if I return it and you cannot [curb] drugs in your city, I will strip you of your power. I might just outright suspend you,” Duterte said.
He continued, “Wala naman kayong silbi (You are worthless). I will not return the police power to you. Wala akong pakialam sa inyo (I don’t care about you).”
To the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the president said he plans to investigate them instead for “conspiracy” and “obstruction of justice.”
Duterte also showed an “updated narco-list,” which contain the names of officials, including member of the judiciary, allegedly involved in the drug trade as of August 8.
“With God’s help…death certificate na yan balang araw (These will be death certificates in the future),” he said. Unlike before, however, the president did not mention any names included in his updated list.
In his speech, the president also showered praises at the province-wide “one time, big time” bloody raid in Bulacan that occurred earlier in the day and resulted to the deaths of 32 drug suspects.
“Yung namatay daw sa Bulacan kanina, 32 (Thirty two people died in Bulacan earlier) in a massive raid. Maganda yun (That’s good),” Duterte remarked.
“Pumatay tayo (Let’s kill) another 32 everyday, maybe we can reduce what ails this country,” he added. He said expects human rights advocates to criticize the raid.
In a statement, Bulacan Police Director Senior Superintendent Romeo Caramat defended the law enforcers, saying that most of the suspects resisted arrest when they conducted the 66 province-wide operations.
“Kinukwestyon nila kung bakit ganun karami (They are questioning the number of deaths), all I can say is we don’t have the control of the situation,” the Bulacan police chief said in a press briefing.
He continued, “As much as possible we wanted to remove those elements that would lead to bloody encounter, that is the reason why meron kaming element of surprise during our operations.”
