AROUND P4.4 billion worth of illegal drugs was confiscated in Central Visayas during the term of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte from 2016 to 2022.
The crime volume in the region also dropped under term of the first President from Mindanao.
The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) reported that from July 1, 2016 to June 26, 2022, a total of 55,574 drug personalities were arrested and 614,216.29 grams of shabu with a street value of P4,176,670,772 and 2,373,839.93 grams of marijuana worth P284,860,791.60 were confiscated in 40,227 anti-narcotics operations.
Crime volume down
As the campaign against illegal drugs under the Duterte administration intensified, the crime volume across the region also dropped significantly.
The successful police-initiated operations in the city and provincial police offices and support units in the region resulted in a 22 percent reduction in crime volume every year, from 2016 to 2022. Crimes against property that most often occur among other crimes decreased by 25 percent, with only 1,803 cases in six years.
Internal cleansing
As to the internal cleansing program of the Philippine National Police (PNP), since 2016, about 90 police officers have been dismissed from service; 28, demoted; 217, suspended.
“PRO 7 vowed to go after erring policemen as part of the PNP’s internal cleansing program, which aimed to produce a professional, dedicated, and disciplined police force,” said PRO 7 Director Brig. Gen. Roque Eduardo Vega.
Vega urged his subordinates to continue the PNP’s well-established programs against crime in the Central Visayas as part of their mandate.
Vega thanked Duterte for the support, such as providing the police with brand new equipment and raising their salaries.
Now under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Vega promised to give their full support to the country’s new leader.
Vega said they would support whatever PNP programs Marcos would want to implement, especially in the campaign against illegal drugs. (AYB / TPT)