‘Philippine drug problem on the downtrend’

TOKYO – The drug menace in the Philippines is on a downtrend, President Duterte said just two months after he claimed that the problem has worsened because of the entry of international drug cartels.

“Ang droga pababa na. Pero meron pa ring nagtatapon (Drugs are going down but there are still some pushers),” the President said during his meeting with the Filipino community here last Thursday.

Duterte did not cite figures or give details on why the narcotics trade in the country is on the decline.

He has been waging a brutal war against illegal drugs since assuming office in 2016 and has threatened to kill drug lords and politicians who protect them. 

Last March, Duterte said “things have worsened” with regard to the illegal drug trade, claiming some foreign drug cartels have entered the Philippines.

Duterte recently said that the number of drug addicts in the Philippines is 7 to 8 million, twice as many as the 3 to 4 million he had cited at the start of his presidency.

Officials later clarified that the 3- to 4-million figure only covered drug addicts in Metro Manila.

More than 5,000 people have died since Duterte launched the anti-drug war, but some human rights groups said the death toll has risen to as high as 27,000.

Duterte, however, said he no longer cares about the number of slain drug suspects.

“I don’t care how many of you have died, just don’t f*** with me on drugs,” he said.