MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday affirmed President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that the drug situation in the country has “worsened,” even as the number of drug users went down.
International drug syndicates continue to smuggle a “large volume of illegal drugs” into the country, said PNP spokesman Bernard Banac.
He cited as examples the recent seizures of P1.8 billion worth of shabu at the capital’s port, another P1.1-billion meth haul in Muntinlupa, and millions of pesos worth of “floating cocaine” bricks retrieved on and off shore in different parts of the country.
“Sumasang-ayon tayo sa assessment ng Pangulo na nag-worsen nga talaga ang drug situation in the sense na iyung mga international drug syndicates ay patuloy pa rin na niyuyurakan ang ating mga batas, patuloy pa rin sila na nagpapasok ng large volume of illegal drugs,” Banac told reporters.
Duterte on Monday was quoted as saying that “things have worsened” in the government’s anti-narcotics drive and that police officers “are at the brink of surrendering.”
The recently intercepted multibillion-peso drug hauls, he said, were mere decoys.
Banac agreed with this, saying: “May ina-anticipate tayong mas marami pang paparating na volume ng illegal drugs.”
The PNP is engaged in “continuous preparation” for this, he said. (ABS-CBN News)
