The Philippine Drug War refers to the drug policy of the Philippine government under President

Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed office on 2016. According to former Philippine National Police Chief
Ronald dela Rosa, the policy is aimed at "the neutralization of illegal drug personalities nationwide".

The first legacy of the war on drugs has been to shine a national spotlight on the Philippines’
drug problem.
To Duterte’s credit, his government has not shied away from inconvenient truths like the fact
that the Philippines is becoming a trans-shipment point for the global drug trade, and the high
number of 1.8 million drug users in the Philippines.
Duterte has also courageously and rightfully identified the involvement of politicians in the drug
trade. Long before his arrival in the national scene, government officials have been implicated in
participating or protecting the drug trade, but previous presidents have turned a blind eye.
Duterte’s attention on drugs has also challenged health officials to offer rehabilitation services
and even consider targeted and sustained community-based interventions. In 2016, Philippine
Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial declared drug use a “public health concern”.

Though these efforts have not born significant fruit, they at least hint at openness on the part of
Philippine government agencies to approach drugs in a comprehensive and open way.
A recognition of the severity of the situation in turn, is going some way in progressing the
Philippine government's response to an undeniably major problem for the Philippines. Police
officers have gone around communities in the Philippines with high levels of drug users and
traffickers, and millions have signed up for drug rehabilitation programmes.

Despite the intensely polarised debates, however, there is actually common ground and strong
agreement within the Philippines that the drug problem needs to be addressed.
This common ground needs to be highlighted to counter the binary choices presented to people
that they are either for the war on drugs or for the drug trade.

(In the 1960s, as drugs became part of youths rebellion, social upheaval, and political dissent, the government
made scientific research to evaluate their medical safety and awareness. The War on Drugs began in June
1971 when U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one” and increased
federal funding for drug-control agencies and drug-treatment efforts.)

(Drug is the best thing that will ruin your life. It is the hardest trouble of our government and one of the worst
problem of our country. It can destroy your own life and can be destroy the life of others and also the
community where you belong.

How can we be losing the war on drugs if the leaders of other countries are copying our system? Would it be
logical to copy a failed system? Why would other countries support a cause if it is not working? Even USA have
declared their support, EU provide aid for drug rehabilitation.

Imagine, in just one municipality, one gymnasium would be filled with drug users. It is a nightmare. It’s
frightening to realize that we are living in a society where there are so many of drug addicts. No wonder why
parents or everyone are so afraid of going out at night, and why there are so many drug related crimes.)

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 WHY THE DRUG WAR SHOULD NOT BE ELIMINATED:

IS IT BENEFICIAL? YES.

1. The other side of Duterte’s war on drugs: rehabilitation, rescue and rooting out of
corruption
- While the death toll in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign has been
the focus of international attention, the government’s massive rehabilitation effort and anti-
corruption measures tend to be ignored.
- Overemphasis on a single aspect of the Philippines’ war on drugs – the death toll – clouds
international perceptions of President ‘s signature campaign. Less publicised by the media is the
health dimension of the campaign. Five months after commencing the crackdown, the
government opened the country’s biggest drug rehabilitation facility. By the end of 2018, three
more regional rehabilitation centres had been built, with plans to construct more. Developing
and running effective rehabilitation programmes also present opportunities to work with local
and international partners.
- The drug war was framed as an existential challenge – a fight to preserve peace and order and a
crusade to save the country’s youth.
- However, for all the hype that it has attracted, Duterte’s attitude to drugs is no regional
exception. Many of the country’s neighbours, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore, have waged crackdowns to eradicate drugs and impose the death penalty for drug-
related crimes.
- (Rights groups have long contested official drug war death figures, accusing the police of
engaging in extrajudicial killings, of condoning vigilante-style attacks and deliberately targeting
poor, small-time drug peddlers. Concerns about collateral damage and the slow progress of
cases against police officers suspected of abuses have also been raised. )
- Nevertheless, official figures suggest that killing is not the campaign’s key objective.

FIGURES: #RealNumbersPH

From July 2016 to March 2019

- 127,379 drug operations conducted

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 - 32.42 billion total worth of seized drugs, CPECs, and laboratory equipments (Imagine the
amount of drugs manufactured, consumed and traded with these numbers. And how long has it
been operating before it was shutdown?)
- 653 government workers arrested in anti-drug operations (273 elected officials, 305 government
employees, 75 uninformed personnel) These include the “untouchables” who were acting as
kings in our government. People didn’t have the guts to call out those people. Now, people can
send reports to 8888 and their identities will be protected.
- The drug war has revealed how the illicit trade had infected the country’s governance and
security apparatus. Hence, “internal cleansing” became integral to the campaign – 316 law
enforcers were dismissed from the service for drug use, while 145 were removed for other drug-
related offences.

- The figures demonstrate that the arrest of suspects, rescue of minors and seizure of drugs are
the primary aims of the operations. The government objects to the practice of lumping fatalities
with the 23,518 deaths under investigation (DUIs), which inflates the drug war toll. Only 2,668
DUIs were found to be drug-related.

(((((The government recently released a list of narco-officials and warned them to desist from taking part
in the drug trade. In November 2018, three police officers were convicted of murdering a minor in an
anti-drug operation that drew a popular outcry.

Duterte has taken radical measures to implement his war on drugs. When reports surfaced that high-
profile inmates of the country’s main penitentiary live in luxury and were even able to carry on their
drug business while incarcerated, he had jail guards replaced by the elite police Special Action Force.
Personnel were frequently rotated to avoid the possibility of them getting familiar with inmates and
thus becoming susceptible to corruption.

Following the controversial deaths of minors in anti-drug operations in Caloocan in October 2017, the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) took over the reins of the drug war from the Philippine
National Police (PNP). Duterte would later recall the PNP to the front line after realising the constraints
of the understaffed PDEA.

When a shipment containing drugs entered the country last year, Duterte had the commissioner and
department heads of the Customs Bureau removed and temporarily put the military in command. A
previous customs commissioner had been replaced in 2017 for failing to thwart the entry of a drug
shipment.)))))

Rehabilitation remains an underappreciated component of Duterte’s drug war. More than 1.2 million
drug users and pushers surrendered from 2016 to early 2017. Police commanders were tasked with
monitoring their whereabouts to ensure they do not resume their old ways. Some underwent 

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rehabilitation–316,494 graduated from recovery and wellness programmes. In 2016, the country’s
biggest drug rehabilitation centre, a 10,000-bed facility, opened in Nueva Ecija. Three drug rehabilitation
centres in Mindanao followed – the 60-bed Agusan facility opened in September 2016, while the 576-
bed Bukidnon and 150-bed Saranggani centres were completed late last year. Davao will soon have its
second drug rehabilitation centre. The health department announced that 11 more such centres are
scheduled for completion late this year. Twenty-three reformation centres were also established. Drug
rehabilitation also opened a new facet in Philippine-China cooperation, with China helping to build the
three new large rehabilitation centres.

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Police were also ordered to limit the feared “Oplan Tokhang” operations, when they visit
homes of users and dealers and seek their surrender, to between 8am and 5pm on
weekdays, police spokesman Dionardo Carlos told a separate media briefing.

“It has to be daytime, so as to erase the impression that if you have been the subject of Tokhang, you
would be killed,” Carlos said, adding police would be required to wear their uniforms during such
operations.

MORE THAN 100 POLICE KILLED, 700 INJURED

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PROS

War on Drugs is a good idea even if not "winnable" John Hawkins. "In defense of the drug war." Human
Events. January 25th, 2007: "While it's true that we may not ever win the war against drugs -- i.e. never entirely
eradicate the use of illegal drugs -- we're not ever going to win the war against murder, robbery and rape either.
But our moral code rejects each of them, so none -- including drugs -- can be legalized if we still adhere to that
code."

ro

 Drug War enables governments to crack-down on cartels Bret Stephens. "In Praise of Mexico's War

on Drugs." Wall Street Journal. March 3, 2009: "The problem is Mexico's record of corrupt, weak and

incompetent governance, which has created the environment in which the cartels have hitherto operated with

impunity. The same might be said about other countries in Latin America: These states did not become basket

cases on account of the drug trade. It is the fact that they were basket cases to begin with that allowed the

drug trade to flourish. [...] The government has managed to spark power struggles within and among cartels,

and the vast majority of Mexico's murder victims are themselves involved in the drug trade. More important,

Mr. Calderón has sent the signal that his government will not repeat the patterns of complacency and collusion

that typified Mexico for decades. Whatever else might be said about his government, it's a serious one."

War on Drugs helps combat drug-related crimes The US Drug Enforcement Administration claims: "Crime,
violence and drug use go hand in hand. Six times as many homicides are committed by people under the influence
of drugs, as by those who are looking for money to buy drugs. Most drug crimes aren’t committed by people trying
to pay for drugs; they’re committed by people on drugs.— US Drug Enforcement Administration (2003). "Speaking
Out Against Drug Legalization" DUF research indicates that: Frequent use of hard drugs is one of the strongest
indicators of a criminal career. Offenders who use drugs are among the most serious and active criminals,
engaging in both property and violent crime. Early and persistent use of cocaine or heroin in the juvenile years is
an indicator of serious, persistent criminal behavior in adulthood. Those arrested who are drug users are more
likely than those not using drugs to be rearrested on pretrial release or fail to appear at trial

 State justified in protecting individuals from own drug abuse. The state has the authority vested in

it by the people to protect individuals from doing harm to themselves and others. The need to assume this

responsibility is especially heightened if the individual is not aware of the risks, or is addicted and thus not

making informed choices.

 The state is justified in protecting society from drug-users . Drug-use affects the user, their

families, children, communities and society at large, and the state must legislate to protect these wider

interests.

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UNHRC RESOLUTION ONE-SIDED

Foreign countries should not interfere

False narratives coming from antiDuterte forces

Biased media outlets

Killing is not state-sponsored

257 arrests compared to 6,600 deaths in police operations 2.6 percent

They don’t understand the social-economic political problems of the PH

15 ABSTAINED 14 REJECTED NOT UNANIMOUS

MORE THAN 100 POLICE KILLED 700 INJURED

THE FACT IS THAT THERE ARE POLICE OPERATIONS THESE PEOPLE ARE SUBJECT OF ARREST AND THEY
RESIST

UNDER THE LAW, PEOPLE ENFORCING THE LAW ARE ENTITLED TO SELF DEFENSE

YOU CAN’T JUST SIT IDLY WHILE BEING SHOT BY THIS PEOPLE

TJHERE’S ONLY ONE PROTOCOL IN SAVING YOURSELF: WHEN YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER, YOU SAVE IT

IN EVERY POLICE OPERATION WHEN THERE ARE DEATHS, AUTOMATICALLY CHARGES ARE FILED WITH
RESPECT TO THOSE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN OTHER WORDS THESE ARE DOCUMENTED CRIMINALS. The
circumstances surrounding the death are there for everyone to see, so what are they complaining
about?

27,000 deaths coming up from accidents, deaths coming up from personal motivations of killing them
adding up

Teddy Boy Locsin: “We helped create the UN to honor the universal values of respect for sovereignty
and non-interference in the internal affairs of state which were brazenly and brutally violated on a
global scale by those who censured us today.” (re: Iceland resolution)

The nation is in gratitude to the late Senator Rene Espina for his contributions in achieving a #DrugFreePH.

Among the laws he had authored was the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, which paved the way for the government to create
policies to help in eradicating illegal drugs problem in the country.

We shall continue his legacy as we rehabilitate the nation together.

#Rehabinasyon

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#DrugFreePH - In his meeting with the Filipino community in Tokyo, Japan, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
announced the significant improvement in eradicating illegal drugs in the country. He says, a family will suffer
and collapse if, even only the father falls into drug use. It may result to social dysfunction and fights within the
family may arise, he added.

PDEA

RA 9165

Section 21 states the procedural of how to handle evidences that were seized during the anti-drug war
operation. Guilty or not, the evidence stands. Ammended by RA 064, evidences will be burned or destroyed in
the legal parlands. That’s why it’s seldom.

PUSHERS NOT ARRESTED – ONLY USERS

Information only from the community. It depends on the cooperation. Strengthen the community’s
cooperation in giving information to law enforcement forces. Calling active participation to be part of
anti-drug operation by providing significant information. Whole-nation approach to combat illegal drug
menace.

REHABINASYON

Go to your BADAC, has its own program, way back 2018 the DILG has been continuously training the
BADAC what to do for the CBRP and the after care program. Coordinated with TESDA for livelihood
trainings, recommend to business establishments

This movement, this fight against the drug problem. Cleared of drugs because of active participation.
Given intervention. Comfortable and safe for Filipinos, crimes that stem from these drug uses.

RA 9165 – Strike out by SC. Not mandatory drug testing because it violates human rights. National and
local government officials do drug test before being employed.

Reenforcement, Rehabilitation, Reintegration, Reformation

Drugs – root cause of suffering. It will not be sidelined, as relentless. Drugs will not be crushed unless we
continue to eliminate corruption that allows the social monster to survive. Not mutually exclusive
(abolished)

SONA – Under the parameters of the law. Dream of glowing days for every Filipino. PH better than the
one I grew up with. Duty to serve and protect the PH.

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Incidents are under investigation. Unidentified people / masked assailants / vigilante killings. Part of
mandate of the PNP to conduct the operations. It is the responsibility of the State to minimize these
killings