‘Drug lords to lose P5.2 B with sustained drug war’

MANILA, Philippines – Drug lords are expected to lose an estimated P5.2 billion in profits as efforts by the Duterte administration to make the Philippines drug-free will likely bear fruit once the relentless drive against the menace is sustained till yearend.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director-general Isidro Lapeña Jr. made this forecast in a briefing held by the House of Representatives’ committee on dangerous drugs headed by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

“Based on consumption estimate, if the users who surrendered will stop using drugs in the next six months (July-December), an estimated 1,040 kilos of shabu will be reduced in the market, or about P5.2-billion losses for drug traffickers,” Lapeña told the panel.

This is if the 673,978 users who surrendered or  are about to surrender will no longer take shabu, he said.

Lapeña revealed at least 673,978 drug dependents, including 44,839 pushers, have surrendered from July 1 to Aug. 22.

Barbers urged the House leadership to increase the budget of all agencies involved in the war against illegal drugs.

He noted the deductions made in the PDEA’s budget.

“Above all these, let us put the money where the mouth is, so to speak.  How can one expect to win this war when the Department of Budget and Management does not even consider this as a priority,” Barbers said.

“All the government agencies tasked to carry out this war should be given the best ammunition they need – budget. Otherwise let us just forget this whole thing and treat the President’s order as a big joke,” he said.

Lapeña also disclosed that various courts across the country have acquitted at least 50 percent of drug offenders, from the total number of cases they filed in the last 14 years.

From 2002 until 2016, Lapeña said 23,776 drug related cases had been filed jointly by the PDEA, the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies.

He said the PNP filed the most number of cases with 20,425, some 51 percent of it or 10,380 resulted in the acquittal of the accused while 5,574 or 27 percent were dismissed and 4,471 of the cases (22 percent) resulted in conviction.

In the case of PDEA, Lapeña said 1,984 cases were filed, but only 502 of these (26 percent) have resulted in conviction while 837 (42 percent) were dismissed and 645 (or 32 percent) acquitted.

Out of 128 cases filed by the NBI, Lapeña said 56 cases resulted in conviction while about 38 cases were eventually dismissed and the defendants from 34 cases were acquitted.

Momentum

Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs had been bloody, leaving at least 1,700 people dead in its wake.

This earned global criticism from various groups, pointing out that most of the victims were summarily executed.

Malacañang, however, brushed aside the criticisms, saying although the anti-drug campaign has not been “perfect,” it has led to the en masse surrender of over 600,000 self confessed addicts and pushers.

“We just like to summarize by saying that we continue to recognize the President’s campaign against drugs has been successful,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

Abella described as “a world record” the 600,000 suspected drug offenders who surrendered.

“While it has not been perfect, it gives the government momentum to move on to the next phase,” he said.

Abella said the second phase of the anti-drug campaign is the swift disposition of justice and the rehabilitation of surrenderees.

“Let us respect the way it was said. In the campaign, it has been very successful but there have been imperfections,” Abella added.

Abella’s statement came on the heels of international news reports about the alarming number of summary executions of suspected drug offenders in the country.

Malacañang seemed to have set aside the BBC report of a female assassin making a living out of killing drug suspects and criminals.

“No, we were not able to discuss that with the President,” Abella said.

Asked if the Palace is at all concerned about the story, Abella said: “Of course it is. Except that, you know, there’s a whole array of things that need to be considered and many of them basically have the same complexion.”

The government has created a fact-finding panel to investigate local officials linked to illegal drug activities.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueño said Task Force Agila will be a legal and investigatory panel that will handle the cases of local officials linked to drugs.

“We are 101 percent behind the President in his campaign against criminality and illegal drugs. This is why we created Task Force Agila to ensure a thorough probe against the so-called narco execs,” he said.

Sueño said the task force was created following President Duterte’s pronouncements that some 23 local officials were involved in drug trafficking.

This developed as a Pangasinan provincial board member denied any involvement in illegal drug activities.

In a news conference, provincial board member Raul Sison denied allegations of his involvement in the drug matrix by President Duterte.

Several personalities were included in the drug matrix, including Sen. Leila de Lima, former justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, former Pangasinan governor and now Rep. Amado Espino Jr., as well as De Lima’s former driver and bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan.

Sison admitted that he and Dayan are distant relatives. Sison’s middle name is Palisoc as Sison’s mother is a second cousin of Dayan’s grandmother. – With Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Eva Visperas, Cesar Ramirez, Non Alquitran