President Marcos said the administration has made significant headway in suppressing the narcotics trade despite shunning the use of excessive violence against suspected drug traffickers and users.
“On the fight against dangerous drugs, our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres, and will continue to adhere, to the established ‘8 Es’ of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy,” Mr. Marcos said in his third State of the Nation Address yesterday.
“Extermination was never one of them,” he added.
Mr. Marcos noted that in the course of more than 71,500 operations launched within his tenure, government operatives have managed to confiscate over P44 billion worth of illegal drugs and round up more than 97,000 suspects.
He said among those arrested were more than 6,000 were “high-value targets,” including 440 government employees — 42 of whom were uniformed personnel — and 77 elected officials.
Mr. Marcos further said the administration’s “bloodless drug war” has yielded an impressive nationwide conviction rate average of at least 79 percent, which he attributed to “strong case build-up and efficient prosecution.”
“We welcome the report that the number of drug-affected barangays in our country has been reduced by 32 percent,” he added.
He further reported that over P500 million in tainted money and assets have been frozen and preserved.
The incumbent leadership’s strategy on the drug war is a stark contrast to what transpired during the Duterte Administration when at least 6,000 drug suspects were killed according to government data, although rights groups estimate the toll to be closer to 30,000.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “SONA 2024: Marcos says ‘extermination’ is never part of his strategy in addressing illegal drugs.”
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