Duterte to Cebu drug suspects: Stay in jail, live longer

CEBU, Philippines — Stay in jail if you want to stay alive.

This was the message of President Rodrigo Duterte to drug suspects in Cebu in a speech he delivered during the 120th anniversary of the Philippine Navy in Manila.

“You know, if I were you guys in Cebu, stay in jail if you want to live longer. Maghanap kayo ng reason to be in jail. Do not go out of that facility. It would not be healthy for you,” he said.

Police Regional Office (PRO) – 7 Director Robert Quenery, however, was quick to downplay the president’s words.

He said the statement is not equivalent to a kill order.

“He may mean that he wants our streets to be free from drug peddlers so that the community may remain safe,” Quenery said, pointing out that 90 percent of the 3,003 barangays in Central Visayas are still affected by illegal drugs.

In fact, he said, police forces are taking the extra mile to keep drug suspects alive through the Oplan Tokhang in which authorities literally knock on doors of residents of drug suspects to convince them to surrender.

“Those who do not heed the call will have to be subjected to drug interdiction and in such case, they are arrested peacefully,” Quenery said.

He emphasized, however, that law enforcement officers would also not tolerate drug suspects who attempt to shoot cops to resist arrest.

“If those arrested put up a fight that would threaten the life of arresting officers, then the officer is left with no recourse but to defend himself,” Quenery said.

Emerson Margate, chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Central Visayas, echoed Quenery’s sentiments.

“For PDEA-7, we will always follow due process. Our marching order from the President is to apprehend all drug offenders allowable by law,” Margate said.

In the same speech at the Philippine Navy, Duterte said he does not discount the possibility that there are still police officers involved in illegal drugs. His message: They would be the “first to go.”

PRO-7 spokesperson Reyman Tolentin said they are doubling efforts to cleanse their own ranks. Until yesterday, 16 policemen have been charged administratively.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) became the center of controversy at the height of the president’s drug war owing to allegedly human rights violations and non-adherence to operational procedures.

Until December last year, Duterte banned the PNP from all anti-illegal drug operations.

Former PNP Director General Ronald Dela Rosa had said the police will adhere to policies strictly. — /JMO (FREEMAN)