MANILA – A survey result showing majority of Filipinos believe there are now fewer drug users in their area was a validation of the success of Duterte administration’s war on drugs, the Malacañang said.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey only showed that the Filipinos acknowledge the administration’s efforts to bring down the number of drug personalities in the country.
“Our focus and drive remain unwavering in destroying the drug apparatus and putting behind bars the drug pushers, with strict observance to operational protocols, until the last day of the President’s term of office in 2022,” Panelo said.
The SWS survey, which was done in December 2018, showed that 66 percent of Filipinos claimed that the number of drug addicts in their area has decreased over the past year.
Mindanao, at 83 percent, has the highest percentage of people who answered there are less drug addicts in their area compared to last year, followed by Visayas at 71 percent, Metro Manila at 67 percent, and the remaining Luzon areas at 54 percent.
“The political opposition and the detractors of the President have been most vocal in using the drug war to vilify the Chief Executive and his Administration even bringing the issue to the International Criminal Court,” Panelo said.
He added: “They remain skeptical, unimpressed and indifferent of the significant strides made by our authorities in relation to prohibited narcotics even pointing out there remains demand and supply on illegal drugs.”/PN
