Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday vowed to intensify the national government’s fight against illegal drugs without compromising basic human rights and respect for the dignity of every individual.
This is in support of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s emphasis in his previous State of the Nation Address (SONA) that extermination was never part of the administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign.
“The DOJ pledges to continue stepping up its collaborative efforts with other government agencies to combat illegal drugs and keep our communities safe. Let me take this opportunity to reiterate that the DOJ is one with the present administration’s ‘Bloodless Drug War’ and we will always bring our A-game in fighting the drug menace by steadfastly upholding the Rule of Law,” said Remulla.
He said the agency will step up its campaign by intensifying its collaborative efforts with other government/law enforcement bodies.
The DOJ, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) will formulate strategies on how to strengthen the campaign against dangerous narcotics and other illicit substances.
Remulla said the DILG can expect their full support to focus the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign on the supply side rather than the consumer side.
He has already ordered the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to expedite the transfer of detained high profile drug personalities to regional prison facilities to cut the alleged continuous production of illicit substances within the national penitentiary.
In an earlier report by the PNP, the total number of crimes recorded from July 1, 2022 to January 31, 2024 has plummeted down to 324,368 which is 10.66 percent lower than the 363,075 crimes logged between December 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022.
Said crimes are drug-related crimes and despite the present development, the agency promises to keep its foot on the gas in continuously finding ways to effectively combat the perpetrators behind them.
