DILG to sustain war on drugs
by Rowz Fajardo
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has vowed to carry on the intensity of the drug war in the final six months of the Duterte Administration to which President Rodrigo Duterte praised the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the DILG. According to DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, the country is already reaping the gains of the war on drugs and this would be a centerpiece campaign until President Duterte steps down from the Palace on June 30, 2022.
Duterte’s Drug War
The drug war is the controversial centerpiece campaign of the Duterte administration which has garnered criticisms internationally due to broad human rights violations allegations, with thousands of drug personalities killed in the past few years.
Last September 15, 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized a probe into Duterte’s administration stating that the implemented campaign is not considered a legitimate law enforcement operation because of the lack of due process and the use of unreliable and often unverified drug watch lists. The investigation came after a request by the Philippines.
Despite the controversies, Malaya stated that the administration is not cowed by such allegations. He furthered that the public should look at the benefits of the drug war which is supposedly protecting the lives of all Filipinos in the country.
Malaya also emphasized that the drug war has been able to help the country make great strides in anti-criminality efforts.
Praising his own campaign
President Duterte hailed and congratulated the PNP and DILG for vowing to continue his administration’s contentious campaign of totally eradicating drug cases in the country.
“It has to be a sustained campaign with no end in sight because nakita mo naman during my watch sa kaistrikto ko sa droga ganoon rin,” President Duterte said during his weekly “Talk to the People” videos which aired last January 5.
Last November 2021, the President claimed that illegal drugs will come back if his successor in Malacañang is not a hardliner against drugs like him. He also mentioned in his talk that he will never apologize for the deaths of suspected drug users and dealers killed in police operations under the administration’s war on drugs.
“Kill me, jail me, I will never apologize,” Duterte stressed.
Probe against the drug war
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the next Philippine president to ensure that killings are stopped and to ensure the government’s cooperation with the ICC in probing the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war last January 13.
In a 752-page World Report 2022, the HRW stated that the presidential aspirants should give significant attention to human rights and urged the successor of President Rodrigo Duterte to make it a priority issue.
“The past six years of the Duterte administration have been an unmitigated disaster for human rights, namely the murderous ‘drug war,’ harassment of the media, and killing of ‘red-tagged’ activists,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, declared in the report.
Moreover, the HRW furthered that presidential candidates must speak out about the human rights situation in the Philippines including the drug war, steps that need to be taken to stop the ongoing human rights violations, and ensure accountability for past abuses.
“All candidates should also announce their willingness to fully cooperate with the ICC investigation,” HRW stated.
The ICC has temporarily halted its investigation on the Duterte administration’s crackdown on drugs after the Philippines requested the international court to defer the investigation. However, the ICC still asked the Philippines for proof that it is conducting its own investigation into the drug-related killings.
