NEWLY elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday, May 26, 2022 that President Rodrigo Duterte urged him to continue the country’s drug war in his own way.
"He was very assertive about it. Sabi niya, 'ituloy mo. Do it your own way, palitan mo, pero huwag mo iiwanan dahil kawawa ang kabataan natin. Masisira ang buhay nila.' And I fully appreciate what he said because our [illegal] drug problem remains," he said.
He, however, did not mention what his response was to Duterte.
Marcos Jr. said the meeting took place before the May 9 national and local elections.
Earlier, Duterte said he will continue his fight against illegal drugs even after he steps down from post and already living as a normal civilian.
The drug war was among the Duterte administration’s priority programs despite criticisms both locally and internationally due to claims of alleged extrajudicial killings of drugs suspects.
As of March 31, 6,241 alleged drug personalities were killed in the drug war, while 336,796 were arrested.
Of the total of 42,045 barangays in the country, 24,766 were declared “drug cleared,” while 6,575 were named “drug free.”
Authorities confiscated P88.83 billion worth of illegal drugs, including shabu, marijuana and cocaine since the campaign started in 2016, when Duterte assumed post.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier launched investigation and proceedings on alleged crimes against humanity of murder in the country amid the administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs.
Duterte maintained that the government will not cooperate with the ICC investigation, noting that the country’s judicial system is working. (SunStar Philippines)