It’s about time to set the record straight.
Different agencies directly involved in the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign are expected to present to the public the real situation in so far as this particular campaign is concerned.
According to the various agencies, which include the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) the number of deaths related to the campaign against illegal drugs is only 1,400.
This is much, much lower than the body count of more than 9,000 which some parties, including staunch critics of the Duterte administration and his flagship anti-drugs campaign, claim.
?During a forum dubbed #RealNumbersPH held yesterday at an Ortigas-based hotel and viewed by netizens via livestream on Facebook, government authorities pointed out to the drastic drop in the crime rate. The discussions were broadcast on PTV4.
The PNP and PDEA were joined by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Health and the Presidential Communications Office in the discussions.
The presentation, according to early insights on the forum, featured the numbers relating to the war on illegal drugs, such as the drug-related cases solved, buy-bust operations conducted, the number of drug dependents, rehabilitation centers and the number of reformed drug users, drug personalities arrested, among others.
The PNP Directorate for Investigative and Detective Management (DIDM) reported that from July 2016 to March 2017, the number of recorded crimes, in particular murder, homicide, robbery, theft, carnapping and physical injuries, reached only 78,900, which is a huge decline from the 158,900 cases recorded from July 1, 2015 until June 30, 2016 under the previous administration.
Authorities say the drop in the crime rate is due to the President’s campaign against illegal drugs, in particular drug trafficking.
Critics of the present dispensation, however, simply do not believe the alleged drop in the crime rate from the time President Duterte launched a relentless drive against illegal drugs.
?But who are we supposed to believe – government authorities or Duterte’s critics who seem to just pluck from thin air their figures as far as casualties of the anti-drug campaign and Oplan Tokhang are concerned.
But regardless of the real numbers, majority of the Filipino people still support Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs.
A survey conducted last December by Pulse Asia Research, but released only in March, revealed that about 82 percent of people in Metro Manila feel safe because of the PNP’s war on illegal drugs.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO)’s war against illegal drugs was implemented on July 1, 2016.
In the Pulse Asia survey, the respondents were asked react to this statement: Compared to last year, I feel that it is less dangerous now in our place because of the campaign against illegal drugs. And to this, 82 percent said yes.
Meanwhile, another survey by the Social Weather Station (SWS) disclosed that the net satisfaction rating on government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign is still high.
The March 25-28 poll SWS found 78 percent satisfied and 12 percent dissatisfied with the government’s drug war, yielding a net satisfaction rating of +66, classified as “very good.”
But this score is 11 points below and one grade lower from its “excellent” +77 rating (85 percent satisfied, eight percent dissatisfied) in December last year. This means that fewer Filipinos are satisfied with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs in the first quarter of the year.
Ten percent of Filipinos are undecided.
The PNP, however, has blamed media coverage of extrajudicial killings for the drop in public satisfaction with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said some of the survey questions were formulated in such a way as to elicit a negative answer from the respondents. For instance, the respondents were asked if they are afraid to die through EJK. Of course, the answer would be yes.
But the numbers do not lie and despite the decline from last year’s numbers, majority of Filipinos still feel safer because there are less drug users and traffickers after they surrendered to authorities under Oplan Tokhang.
Of course, some of the respondents may have been influenced by the relentless black propaganda being peddled by those who want Duterte out of office for obviously political and personal reasons. The same people who will be in power who will benefit in case Duterte is ousted and impeached.
But what is equally disturbing is the fact that even foreign organizations and media bodies are adding to the fire, leading some quarters to ask if some of them are being paid by anti-Duterte campaigners, many of who have the funds to spend big-time.
President Duterte won by a landslide victory during the last elections largely because he promised to rid the country of drugs and criminals. He did not mince words when he said that he would be very hard on criminals.
The President has said time and again that he did not order the extra-judicial killings. But there were abuses by the police which was the reason why PNP chief Director General Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa suspended Oplan Tokhang and dissolved the Anti-Illegal Drugs Group and other similar police units in the field tasked to implement Tokhang.
In his directive, the President handed over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency all operations against illegal drugs.
In the meantime, Duterte’s critics cannot even offer a suggestion as to how the government should get rid of drugs in this country.
What we need is positive criticism at this point.
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