November 14, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The drug war under the administration of President Marcos has netted P40.32 billion worth of illegal drugs, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.
Up to 31,059 kilos of shabu, marijuana and the party drug Ecstasy were seized by police from July 1, 2022 to Nov. 2, 2024, the PNP said.
From Jan. 1 to Nov. 2, 2023, police confiscated illegal drugs weighing about 16,624 kilos valued at P19.29 billion.
The PNP said 140,722 drug suspects were arrested in 112,300 police operations, with 49,621 suspects arrested in 2023.
The PNP, however, did not disclose data about suspected drug pushers who were killed in shootouts with anti-narcotics operatives.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil has ordered police commanders to intensify the campaign against illegal drugs, but reminded them to observe human rights.
“We reiterate the President’s order to respect human rights and the preservation of life,” PNP public information officer Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said.
Fajardo said the PNP is complying with Marcos’ directive for a holistic approach in dealing with the drug trade problem in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and other law enforcement agencies.
Crimes down 13%
Meanwhile, the crime volume nationwide went down by at least 13 percent, according to data released by the PNP yesterday.
The PNP has documented 30,322 index crimes from Jan. 1 to Nov. 8, which is lower by 13.51 percent compared to 35,057 cases during the same period.
Index crimes involve crimes against persons while non-index crimes are violations of special laws such as local ordinances.
The focus crimes – murder, homicide, physical injury, robbery, theft, vehicle theft, motorcycle theft and rape – decreased by 13.52 percent from 34,883 to 30,166.
Fajardo said that except for motorcycle theft and homicide, the other focus crimes registered a downward trend.
Homicide cases went up by 3.65 percent from 960 incidents to 995 cases and motorcycle theft by 1.42 percent to 1,714 from 1,690.
Rape cases recorded the biggest decrease with 34.46 percent, from 8,578 to 5,622, followed by robbery with 15.93 percent, from 4,143 to 3,483, and car theft, which went down by 12.82 percent from 242 or 211.
Physical injury cases dropped by 10.05 percent, from 4,439 to 3,993 while theft incidents went down from 11,281 to 10,641, a decline of 5.67 percent.
The PNP said there was a 1.21-percent drop in murder incidents, from 3,550 to 3,507.
With the Yuletide season approaching, Marbil has ordered field commanders to beef up security measures to protect the public from criminals and further bring down crime cases.
Among these interventions is the deployment of police officers for foot patrols in convergent points during the holiday season.
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