NCRPO to stage more anti-drug operations

MANILA, Philippines — Police in Metro Manila will conduct more anti-drug operations following President Duterte’s vow during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday that he will pursue a “relentless and chilling” drug war.

“We will conduct more operations. Our objective is to have drug-cleared or resistant communities,” Chief Superintendent Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said in a news forum in Quezon City yesterday.

Since President Duterte took office in July 2016, at least 1,600 suspected drug pushers and users in Metro Manila were killed in alleged armed encounters with the police while around 44,000 were arrested, he said.

Eleazar clarified that an intensified drug war means more deaths in police operations, stressing their enforcement of laws are based on police operational procedures.

However, casualties could not be avoided if drug suspects resist arrest and put up a fight that would endanger the lives of police officers.

He expects their average of 70 to 100 arrests of drug offenders a day to increase in response to Dueterte’s statement.

Eleazar appealed for cooperation from the public for any information on people involved in the drug trade.

He did not give a figure when asked how many drug syndicates they are currently monitoring in Metro Manila.