Bato: PH drug problem returning to pre-Duterte level

The country's illegal drug problem is reverting to the situation before Rodrigo Duterte took over as president, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa claimed Friday.

Dela Rosa, who headed the Philippine National Police (PNP) during Duterte's term, made the remark in a phone interview when asked about the information he is getting from the ground regarding the current drug situation in the country.

"Hindi pa naman natin naaabot 'yung pre-Duterte administration level na drug situation, 'no, pero going [in] that direction," Dela Rosa said.

"Dahil nga lumalakas na 'yung kanilang loob na magta-traffic ng shabu, at 'yung sa street level ay ramdam na ramdam ng mga local chief executives at mga mamamayan mismo. Marami na silang nagpaparating sa atin ng kanilang obserbasyon na talagang andiyan na naman sila," he added.

(We haven't reached the pre-Duterte administration level yet but we are going in that direction. Because the drug traffickers are now bold enough to sell contrabands at the street level. Many local chief executives and even ordinary Filipinos have told me about their observations that the drug traders are back.)

The war on drugs had been the centerpiece of the Duterte administration, with many critics, among them human rights groups, blaming the crackdown for human rights violations under his administration.

Indicator

One of the indicators that drugs are back on the streets, according to Dela Rosa, is the increase of crimes in the country.

"Aside from the buying and selling, the trafficking ang pinakamalaking indicator dito 'yung… boldness ng mga thugs, mga criminals na gumawa ng krimen, dahil alam natin na halos lahat ng mga ganung klaseng krimen ay drug-related. Pag hindi sila high sa drugs, hindi nila kayang gawin 'yung mga krimen na 'yan. It's happening anywhere right now," he said.

(Aside from the actual selling of drugs, one of the indicators is the boldness of the thugs and criminals to commit crimes, because we all know that these crimes are drug-related. If they are not high on drugs, they will not do such things. It's happening anywhere right now.)

Dela Rosa attributed the "boldness" of the criminals to the less aggressive stance of the Marcos administration when it comes to the illegal drug problem.

"To put it bluntly, the direction that this administration is taking towards drug campaign is somehow hindi ganung (not that) ka-intense [unlike the] previous administration. Kaya lumakas ang loob nila (that's why the criminals got bolder)," he said.

Still, Dela Rosa said he is hoping that the current administration would address the situation immediately by motivating the police force to increase its anti-drug efforts.

"Hindi naman tayo puwedeng magpaka-bulag at bingi dun sa mga nangyayari sa ground, 'no. Totoo naman talaga 'yan na nangyayari. So we just hope na ma-address ito right away," he said.

"Kasi maraming pulis ngayon na medyo nawalan na ng gana mag-operate, sila na lang tanungin niyo for whatever reason. Pero makita mo talaga na medyo humina, unlike noon na buong PNP nakatutok sa war on drugs," he said.

(We cannot turn a blind eye on what is happening on the ground. Those are all true. So, we just hope that this will be addressed right away. Many members of the police force are already discouraged in conducting drug operations. For whatever reason, just ask them. But you can tell that the police force is less aggressive now unlike before when everyone was focused on the war on drugs.)

GMA News Online sought the comment of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

Last month, PNP chief Police General Benjamin Acorda said the overall crime rate from January to September 2023 dropped to 7.84% which he tagged as a “significant decrease.”

The PNP also seized P7.2 billion worth of illegal drugs since the beginning of this year through 34,496 operations conducted.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News