AT least 177 policemen from Metro Manila have been charged with illegal drug-related offenses such as planting of evidence, unlawful arrests, and excessive violence under the current administration, President Marcos Jr. said.
In a video message released yesterday, the President said this stemmed from the government’s intensified anti-illegal drugs campaign which included focusing on law enforcers.
“Alam naman natin na kung minsan nadadala ang ating mga opisyal at siyempre hindi natin maaaring pabayaan ‘yan. Kaya’t ang nangyari ay 177 police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses (We all know that sometimes our officials get carried away and, of course, we cannot let that go. That is why 177 police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses),” Marcos said.
He said the police officers are all detailed in Metro Manila. There are no details yet as to how many police officers have been charged in other parts of the country.
The President said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently pursuing 151,818 illegal drug-related court cases from 2022 to 2023.
Marcos also said that 121,582 “drug trade violators” are currently in jail.
“Para sa amin hindi lang ‘to sa mga magagandang numero kung hindi ay talagang magiging improvement. Pinaganda talaga natin ang komunidad natin, pinapaganda talaga natin ang buhay ng ating mga kababayan, at iniiwas natin ang mga kabataan natin diyan sa pagpasok sa lifestyle ng drug-taking (For us, this is not just good numbers but a real improvement. We really improved our community, make good the lives of our countrymen, and prevented the young from entering a drug-taking lifestyle),” he added.
The PNP, in its report to Malacanang, had said that P10.41 billion worth of illegal drugs had been confiscated from January to December 2023 and 56,495 suspects had been arrested in more than 44,000 anti-illegal drug operations last year.
The PNP also said that through the consolidated efforts of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the police, the government had cleared 27,968 barangays of illegal drugs.
Twenty-three provinces, 447 municipalities, and 43 cities had also established community-based drug rehabilitation programs (CBDRPs) as of December 27, 2023, while 50 provinces, 1,160 municipalities, and 30 cities have functional Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) implementing anti-drug priorities at the local level.
Seventy-four in-patient treatment and rehabilitation facilities were also put up in 2023. The administration targets to establish a 1:1 ratio of established treatment and rehabilitation facilities per province by 2028.
The government also aims to reduce the target-listed drug personalities by 10 percent of the annual target list and establish CBDRPs and ADACs in all provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays by June 2028.
