President Rodrigo Duterte wants to destroy all illegal drugs seized in operations across the country to avoid the risk of them being "recycled" by next week, saying he will visit facilities where confiscated illegal drugs are stored.
Duterte made the remarks late Monday night, stating that destroying the confiscated drugs will “better protect” Filipinos since it would prevent the illegal substances from being “stolen, used and recycled.”
The Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Customs have confiscated a combined P20-billion worth of illegal drugs from January to June this year.
In a report to the President, the PNP said the illegal drugs, in the form of crystal meth or “shabu” and marijuana products, were seized by police anti-drug units in 25,612 operations across the country, which were coordinated with the regional units of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Scores of suspected drug pushers and users were killed after Duterte launched a controversial war on illegal drugs at the start of his term.
The PDEA on Tuesday vowed to comply with the order.
“Relative to this, we are following up on the issuance of court orders for destruction of these pieces of drug evidence pursuant to Office of the Court Administrator Circular 118-2020 issued by the Supreme Court Administrator,” PDEA director general Wilkins Villanueva said in a statement. Vito Barcelo, Rio N. Araja, and Macon Ramos-Araneta
He said the anti-narcotics agency must not keep a contraband or merchandise that could be used or recycled.
“In the meantime, we can destroy more or less one ton of shabu next week,” Villanueva added.
Interviewed over Super Radyo dzBB, the PDEA chief said a total of 2.82 tons of dangerous drugs would be destroyed.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon supported President Duterte’s directive to destroy by next week all confiscated illegal drugs, some of which had been seized since 2010.
He said it is about time that the three branches of government plug the loopholes in the implementation of Section 21 of Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“Given what we have seen in the past as disturbing cases of recycling of billions worth of shabu by so-called ninja cops, it is about time that the three branches of government act as one in plugging the loopholes in the implementation of the law,” Drilon said.
Drilon authored the provision in the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 that mandates the immediate destruction of seized illegal drugs.
His constant criticisms paved the way for the issuance of Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) Circular No. 118-2020 this year, which requires judges to strictly comply with the procedure outlined in Sec. 21 of R.A. 9165.
The Circular further advises judges to prioritize seized dangerous drugs amounting to five kilograms or more.
In his speech, Duterte said he wants all the shabu residual or otherwise, however minimal, destroyed, the whole of it by next week.
“You have so many days to do it in one week. Do it in one week. Destroy and get specimens,” he said.
“We go by science, there’s the experiment. Why do we have to put on our shoulders the burden of keeping contraband or merchandise that can be stolen and used, and recycled?” he said.
Duterte said there are some few policemen recycling seized illegal drugs which were not reported, and this makes him sad.
“So we can more or less improve things, better protect the Filipino people while doing a concerted action immediately after just a few — I hope the Supreme Court will agree with me — just a few days after, they should be destroyed and be accounted for accurately,” the President said.
He said without the practice of stealing and recycling, the use of illegal drugs will at least be minimized.