Marcos touts strategy vs. drugs: Extermination not one of them

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address touted his administration's campaign against illegal drugs, declaring that it did not include killings.

"On the fight against dangerous drugs, our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres, and will continue to adhere, to the established '8 Es' of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy," Marcos said.

"Extermination was never one of them," he added.

Despite this "bloodless" drug war, Marcos said his administration's campaign has resulted in the seizure of P44 billion worth of illegal drugs and the arrest of more than 97,000 drug personalities in its more than 71,500 operations.

Marcos reported that more than 6,000 of those arrested were high-value targets, 440 of them were government employees--of whom 42 were uniformed personnel and 77 elected officials.

The president likewise said that more than P500 million worth of "dirty money and assets" have been frozen and preserved.

"With strong case build-up and efficient prosecution, the drug conviction rate is at a high of 79 percent," he said.

He ended his war on drugs report by reporting that the number of drug-affected barangays in the country has been reduced by 32%.

More than 6,000 people died in former President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign, but rights groups say that up to 30,000 may have been killed.

Marcos earlier said he was opposed to eradicating the illegal drugs in the country with violence and would instead push for a "whole-of-nation approach."

Among the Marcos administration's reforms include the reorganization of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to remove police officers who were engaged in erring activities during the Duterte administration.

The President also said the approach should include prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and law enforcement to ensure the implementation of the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drug Strategy.

However, Marcos has expressed his firm stance that the government would not serve any arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Duterte. He has said that he does not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC in the Philippines and considers the tribunal as a threat to the country's sovereignty.

In 2023, the ICC resumed its formal probe into possible crimes against human rights committed by the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

The families of several victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) appealed to the government to coordinate with the ICC probe on Duterte’s bloody drug war.

Duterte and Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa were also invited to attend the House hearing on the former president’s war on drugs. Dela Rosa served as the PNP chief during the Duterte administration from July 2016 to April 2018.

Despite Marcos' new campaign to address illegal drugs in the country, however, Amnesty International Philippines noted that drug-related killings persisted in 2023 with 329 individuals killed.

Last April, Amnesty International Philippines director Butch Olano said Marcos should "make an explicit and categorical policy pronouncement to end the so-called war on drugs and EJKs." — NB/VDV, GMA Integrated News