President Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to end the drug problem in six months has not materialized and the narcotics dilemma has continued now that the chief executive is on his way out.
As President Duterte is on his way out, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has vowed to continue its fight against illegal drugs. PNP officer-in-charge Vicente Danao Jr. said they will recommend to the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the shift of the drug war’s focus to prevention and education to discourage the youth from wasting their lives on illegal drugs.
Danao said the PNP will coordinate with the Department of Health and local government units and ask them to continue the rehabilitation program for the drug abusers.
The Duterte administration’s drug war has drawn condemnation from human rights advocates and investigation from an international court for alleged extrajudicial killings committed during operations.
Educating the youth about the drug menace could possibly help prevent them from entering the world of vice and help dwindle the demand for illegal drugs in the country, which could ultimately lead to diminishing, if not eliminating, the drug supply.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency reported that as of April 30, 2022, 6,248 drug suspects had died in the Duterte administration’s war against illegal drugs. Since Duterte’s assumption in 2016, a total of 341,494 drug suspects were caught in 236,620 anti-narcotics operations.
In the nearly six years of Duterte’s presidency, the drug menace has continued. Police’s intensive campaign that led to thousands of deaths has failed to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country. Bloodshed is not the cure for the problem that is not endemic to the Philippines.