MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police on Sunday reported that there have been 34 deaths since the implementation of “Project Double Barrel: Reloaded” last a revamped anti-drug campaign on March 6.
In its latest released data, PNP said that, as of March 19, there had been 34 fatalities in police operations.
PNP Director General Ronald Dela Rosa promised that the “reloaded” campaign against illegal drugs will be less bloody and that more people will be arrested than killed.
As of March 19, 6 a.m., the PNP reported that police visited 81,603 houses for Oplan Tokhang.
It added that 7,833 drug users and pushers surrendered while 2,132 drug suspects were arrested during police operations.
PNP said there were no police casualties during the operations.
Aside from Oplan Tokhang, PNP reported that it conducted 1,377 High Value Target Operations
Last January, President Rodrigo Duterte halted the anti-illegal drug operations of the PNP after Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo was discovered to have been killed inside police headquarters Camp Crame by cops who used the anti-narcotics campaign for illegal activities and extortion.
On February however, Duterte decided to tap the PNP again in the war on drugs. He said only qualified police officers with no derogatory records would be allowed to join the campaign.
More than 8,000 people have been killed since the war on drugs was implemented at the start of Duterte administration.