PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. commended on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the peaceful interception of the biggest drug haul in the country’s history.
Marcos visited the ongoing inventory of the around 1.8 tons of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) intercepted by the police during an intelligence-driven checkpoint operation on April 15, 2024 in Barangay Pinagkrusan, Alitagtag, Batangas.
“I would like also to point out, this is the biggest shipment of shabu na nahuli (that was intercepted) but not one person died. Walang namatay, walang nagputukan, walang nasaktan basta inoperate natin ng dahan-dahan (No one died or injured, and the operation was done slowly and peacefully),” he said in an interview with reporters.
“’Yun naman ang dapat approach sa drug war ang pinaka-importante matigil natin ang pag-ship ng drugs sa pagpasok ng Pilipinas,” he added.
(That should be our approach to the drug war. What’s important is we stop the shipment of illegal drugs to the country.)
Marcos expressed confidence that the seized P13.3 billion worth of shabu, which was ruled by the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as highly potent, was not manufactured in the country.
He said the origin of these illegal drugs is still under investigation.
Marcos said his instruction to the law enforcement agencies in line with the administration’s campaign against drug menace is to continue targeting the sources of illegal drugs, particularly the drug syndicates with close coordination with their foreign counterparts.
“This is the approach that we are taking to the drug war. Ang ating ginagawa, binabaklas natin ‘yung mga sindikato kahit sinoman ang nakita natin na kasabwat dito sa drug trade, kahit powerful politician, pulis o kung sino man ay talagang pinaiimbestigahan talaga natin,” he said.
(What we are doing is we are breaking up the syndicates regardless of who were the personalities involved, be it powerful politicians, police or anyone else, we put them under investigation.)
Marcos said they aim to make it hard for the drug syndicates to bring into the country their illegal contrabands and to prosecute them “well within the law.” (TPM/SunStar Philippines)