THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday, October 25, said they will continue the fight against illegal drugs despite the criticisms.
“Mananatili ang ating kampanya dahil ito ang ating mandato (Our campaign will continue because this is our mandate),” PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Bernard Banac said.
He made the statement following the remarks made by Vice President Leni Robredo that the campaign against illegal drugs should be stopped as it is a failure because it targets only the poor rather than the big drug networks.
Banac maintained that the ongoing war on drugs is a success, citing the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which shows that for three consecutive years, 82 percent of Filipinos have been satisfied by the intensified illegal drugs campaign of the administration.
“May 82 percent na approval/satisfaction from the public, yun ang batayan natin na tama (We got an approval/satisfaction rating of 82 percent, which is our gauge for success),” Banac said.
He assured the public that the PNP will continue to perform its mandate within the bounds of the law and with utmost respect for human rights.
The campaign against illegal drugs, particularly the killing of "nanlaban" suspects, has been widely criticized. Nanlaban is the term used to drug personalities who allegedly resisted arrest.
Among the most controversial cases were the separate killing of 17-year-old Kian Lloyd delos Santos and 19-year-old Karl Angelo Arnaiz in Caloocan City in August 2017.
The police claimed that the teenagers shot at the police during the separate anti-illegal drugs operation.
The killing of the two teenagers prompted the Senate to relaunch its investigation into extrajudicial killings in relation to the drug war. The inquiry revealed that the police had intentionally killed the two boys. (SunStar Philippines)