Bato: Common crimes down

MANILA, Philippines – Common crimes like murder, homicide, rape and robbery have declined as the police intensify the campaign against illegal drugs, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa claimed yesterday.

De la Rosa vowed to continue the campaign against illegal drugs and ensure the public will be safe.

He urged the community to help the government win the war against criminality, particularly the drug lords.

“The PNP is now on full-scale war against crime and lawlessness. I take this opportunity to call on our partners in the community, the AFAD (Association of Firearms and Explosives Division) and all other sectors to help us win this war,” said De la Rosa in his speech during the opening of 24^th AFAD Defense and Sporting Arms Show held at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Based on records from the PNP-Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), there were 192 “drug personalities” killed during anti-drug operations from May 10 to July 10.

But media reports showed over 300 individuals were killed by policemen during the anti-illegal drug campaign nationwide.

The number of drug personalities killed increased after President Duterte won in the May 9 presidential elections. The President vowed to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs during his campaign.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueño, exactly two weeks into office, said that the government is gaining the upper hand in the war against illegal drugs and criminality.

“By all indications, we are winning the war against drugs and crime. Now it is our responsibility as a nation to sustain our gains and be more proactive in keeping the peace in our communities,” he said.

Sueño said Duterte’s strong, no-nonsense stance against illegal drugs has “scared the wits out of drug pushers and users,” which prompted them to surrender to police and local government authorities.

“Change is really happening because these people have decided to turn themselves in and mend their ways rather than to be on the other side of the fence,” he said.

In the Davao region, reports showed that a total of 17,208 drug personalities have submitted themselves to the PNP. Of the number, 8,370 were from Davao del Norte; 3,538 from Davao Oriental; 2,395 from Compostela Valley; 1,308 from Davao City; 1,144 from Davao del Sur, and 453 from Davao Occidental.

Meanwhile, in Butuan City, 130 drug users surrendered to the PNP, while 2,656 drug peddlers have appeared before the police stations in Central Visayas. 

Several LGUs in other areas of the country have reported similar accounts of huge number of surrenderees.

Sueño said that since most of the crimes in the country are caused by those under the influence of drugs, the mass surrender of drug suspects will somehow decrease the number of crimes committed.

Rehabilitation islands

The government is considering a plan to establish rehabilitation centers in several islands to accommodate the hundreds of drug dependents that have recently surrendered to authorities.

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial yesterday reported that the Duterte administration is looking into the possibility of sending drug dependents needing rehabilitation to government-owned islands.

Ubial said that during a Cabinet meeting, PNP chief De la Rosa proposed the idea as a solution to a projected shortage of rehabilitation centers.

She explained that there is no problem for the DOH if drug dependents would stay in the islands because they will be providing the same health services wherever the drug users would be rehabilitated.

“For us at the DOH, the drug users or the addict is not the enemy. They are also victims of drug pushers,” Ubial pointed out.

Citing report of the PNP, Ubial said a total of 41,000 drug dependents have surrendered to the government.

Of the figure, Ubial said, 90 percent need community-based intervention and less than one percent require confinement in rehabilitation centers.

Ubial said after the drug dependents surrender, they undergo assessment to determine what kind of intervention can be provided to them. With Mayen Jaymalin