Marcos: I opposed handling drug menace in a violent way

BERLIN—President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he's opposed to handling the drug menace with violence.

Marcos made the remark when Scholz asked him about his approach against illegal drugs compared to that of his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

He said the country has made some progress against the drug problem under his administration.

"It's a big problem, but our approach has changed significantly," Marcos said.

"I diametrically opposed to handling the drug problem in that way, by confrontation, by violence, and it really requires so much, more much deeper understanding on the problem and the much deeper solution. So, yes, I think that we are also progressing when it comes to that," he added.

Marcos mentioned that part of the reforms is the reorganization of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to remove some of the police officers involved "in some of the more nefarious practices" that were undertaken during the Duterte administration.

"We are starting to move them out, and some of them have already been tried and convicted, now in jail and serving their time. It's a difficult problem because it's the money involved is so much that it's hard for the government to compete with the kind of money that's been thrown around by the drug lords," he said.

During his Washington visit in May 2023, Marcos said there had been abuses committed during the previous administration in the war on illegal drugs.

Asked to assess Duterte's drug campaign, Marcos had said: "I'm in no position to assess the administration of anybody else. That is not proper for me—that's not a proper role for me to take."

Marcos has since said that his administration would focus on rehabilitation to curb the drug menace.

Duterte recently branded his successor as a drug addict, who in turn said, "I think it's the fentanyl." The former president had previously admitted taking fentanyl, an addictive synthetic opiod, for pain relief.

Despite his remark being caught on video, the former president weeks later claimed he said no such thing. —VDV/NB, GMA Integrated News