Duterte renews vow to crush illegal drug industry

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte prepares to receive Former Poland President Lech Walesa as the latter paid a courtesy call on the President at Malacañan Palace on January 23, 2018. TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA— President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday reiterated his promise to destroy illegal drug industry as the Philippine National Police (PNP) embarked on less bloody anti-drug operations throughout the country.

The President made this commitment in front of government officials including PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa who joined him in a three-day trip to India.

“That is my aim. I will destroy the drug industry in the Philippines,” Duterte said in speech before leaving for New Delhi to attend India-ASEAN Summit and India’s Republic Day celebration.

On Wednesday, the PNP issued a simplified list of dos and don’ts to be observed by police units when conducting the revived “Oplan Tokhang” against the drug menace.

The revised guidelines were in compliance with Dela Rosa’s promise that the re-launched anti-drug operations would be ‘less bloody’ and in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

President Duterte said his objective was to build a next generation that was free from “scourge of drug.”

“I do not care about the human rights. Solve the problem first,” he said, referring to illegal drugs that afflicted three million Filipinos.

The President apologized to the people affected by his fight against illegal drugs but “the law says when it is an organized crime, the act of one is the act of all and the liability of one is the liability of all.”

“I have to enforce the law against all, against the generals, against the Cabinet members, against everybody,” Duterte said.

Duterte said illegal drug was just one of the problems that he wanted to address within his six-year term.

He wanted also to address the threat of terrorism and other forms of criminality including insurgency.

“I will go for the harsh measures because these criminals, these terrorists, they have no mercy,” Duterte said.

The President said he intended to bring up the issue of regional terrorism with his fellow leaders in Southeast Asia during the India-ASEAN Special Commemorative Summit.

“I’m glad that India is inviting us so that we can do something (about) the other allied problems of each other’s governance,” Duterte said.

“We have to come up with a platform of how to deal with terrorism. Me, I go for a hardline policy. Blow them up in the high seas. Otherwise, if we do not do the extreme measures, we’d always be at the mercy of criminal,” he added.

Duterte said he already ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to be ready to destroy the enemies of the states.

“So I need more than just talk and more than just promises. I want it done during my term. And my orders are specially an ideology that is so bankrupt, so corrupt, na wala namang nalaman kung hindi pumatay at magpatay at magsira. And we cannot live with that kind of world,” the President said.

“I do not intend to stay a minute longer. But within my term, if you are saying I am a dictator, no, I am not. There are laws to be followed,” he added.