Bato to addicts: Kill drug lords, burn their houses

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa prodded drug addicts “to kill drug lords and burn their houses for making them gaunt, toothless and addicted to shabu.”

Dela Rosa stressed that drug lords have ruined their lives.

In contrast, he explained that drug lords do not use illegal drugs.

“They look good and get rich, enjoying the fruits of their illegal activities at the expense of drug addicts.

“You know who the drug lords are in your place. If you want to kill them, kill them. You can kill them because you are the victims, ” Dela Rosa said in Filipino in a speech in Bacolod City.

He noted that drug lords do not get killed. “They are the ones enjoying money from you that destroy your brain. They are happy and rich. They don’t get arrested. They have no problem,” he told drug users and pushers.

Since he assumed office on July 1, Dela Rosa has been visiting police offices to personally convey the directive of President Duterte to end the drug problem in the country in three to six months.

During his visit to Bacolod, he met with several drug personalities who opted to surrender and vowed to reform.

The PNP chief said drug money is now being used to win elections and in some cases, even those in the justice department benefit from the illegal drug trade.

“We invited a fiscal and we found out that this fiscal has P600 million in the bank. Where would he get that huge sum of money?” said Dela Rosa.

He assured the public that the PNP is doing everything to catch drug lords, saying that he is optimistic that the Duterte administration would meet its goal of ending the illegal drug problem in the country.

Iloilo couple

In a related development, a business couple in Iloilo City is now being investigated by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for their alleged involvement in illegal drugs in Western Visayas.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno referred Melvin and Meriam Odicta to the CIDG to submit “confidential documents.”

“They come here to clear their names of any involvement in illegal drugs. They were reportedly referred to as a certain Dragon, who is a popular drug lord in Iloilo City,” Sueno told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Earlier, the office of Sueno sent out an advisory about the surrender of Melvin Odicta, an alleged drug financier on the list of suspected drug personalities of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

“Odicta said he will reveal his own matrix of other personalities involved, including senators, congressmen and other local officials,” the media invitation from the Department of the Interior and Local Government read.

Sueno later said there was no matrix and the CIDG would just investigate the case.

Raymund Fortun, legal counsel of the Odicta couple, said his clients were not involved in illegal drugs and the accusations against them were politically motivated.

“In fact, my clients had already filed libel charges against a radio station for linking them to illegal drugs,” he noted.

However, Melvin admitted being convicted for possession of marijuana in 1991 and served his sentence until 1999.