Gov’t succeeded in dismantling illegal drug factories: Palace

Panelo said Duterte may be referring to the entry of illegal drugs in the country in his recent statement, saying the drug situation in the country has worsened and not the number of drug addicts. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — Malacañang on Friday said the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte has succeeded in dismantling illegal drug factories in the country.

“With respect to the dismantling of many factories, we have succeeded on that,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a briefing.

Panelo said Duterte may be referring to the entry of illegal drugs in the country in his recent statement, saying the drug situation in the country has worsened and not the number of drug addicts.

“What he means when he said that it worsened is because the number of entry of prohibited drugs. You recall that there were two huge confiscations of prohibited drugs that entered the country – PHP2.6 billion worth or was it 3 point something. In other words, that is why he said that, but, as correctly stated by PDEA Director General (Aaron) Aquino. It shows also that we are succeeding because we can stop that such big amount, equivalent amount that is coming to the Philippines,” he said.

Panelo said the President “definitely” has an accurate picture of the drug situation in the country.

“He has unlimited sources coming from within and without,” he said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) earlier noted the continued drop in crime rate as indicative of a successful anti-illegal drug operation.

PNP deputy spokesperson, Lt. Col Kimberly Molitas, on Wednesday reported that authorities are winning the war for the Filipino people.

PNP data showed that a total of 1,040,987 crimes were reported from July 2016 to June 2018, lower than the 1,325,789 cases reported during the same period in 2014 to 2016, or a 21.48 percent drop.

Crimes against persons like homicide, physical injuries, and rape also went down, except for murder, which saw an increase of 19,210 or 1.5 percent during the last two years.

Molitas said the war on drugs is far from over, but the inter-agency task force publishes daily reports of its progress.