By Argyll Cyrus Geducos
Malacañang said that it was satisfied with how President Duterte's war against illegal drugs was being waged, saying that it was accomplishing what it was meant to do--put an end to the illegal drug trade.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo (OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after Duterte mentioned in a speech that he will be pouring more money for the intelligence program in the drug war.
According to Panelo, he was seeing in his daily briefings the consistent number of anti-illegal drugs operations and arrests made.
"Well, definitely . You know, I am receiving briefings, everyday coming from the military sources, everyday merong (there are) buy bust operations," he said.
"Maraming naaresto, may mga lumalaban din, so in the process nagkakaroon ng mga barilan. Marami akong nababasa na nabuwag iyong ganitong factory, na-discover iyong (There are a lot arrests made, some fighting back so there are gunfights in the process. I've been reading about factories being dismantles)—I’m very satisfied with the performance," he added.
Only this weekend, Panelo said that the drug war had been effective, citing the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which showed that 66 percent of Filipinos believe they have seen lesser drug personalities in the streets.
According to the Palace official, critics of the drug war should now stop playing dumb given how the people have spoken about the effectiveness of the illegal drugs campaign.
"They remain skeptical, unimpressed and indifferent of the significant strides made by our authorities in relation to prohibited narcotics even pointing out there remains demand and supply on illegal drugs," Panelo said.
"We ask them to stop playing blind dumb and instead listen to the people: 83 percent of people of Mindanao say there are less drug addicts there; 71 percent in the Visayas say there is a decrease; 67 percent in Metro Manila likewise say there is a decrease; while 54 percent in Luzon share the same sentiment," he added.
Based on the most recent data in the website of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), as of November 30, 2018, a total of 5,050 drug personalities have died in 115,435 anti-drug operations conducted.
Since the President assumed his post, a total of 164,265 drug personalities were arrested as of November 30, 2018.