Presidential aspirant and Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said he would continue the Duterte administration’s war on drugs but it will not be bloody if he wins the presidency.
“Why not? Basta papanagutin kita sa mata ng batas, hind sa batas ng sinuman. Sa mata ng batas (I will hold you accountable in the eyes of the law, not anyone's law. In the eyes of the law), which we are doing. We are going to do so, if given a chance. No ifs, no buts,” Domagoso said during the Presidential One-on-One Interviews with Boy Abunda on Jan. 27.
The Manila mayor had previously said he would not tolerate extra-judicial killings (EJKs), not only in the fight against illegal drugs but also in the fight against criminality.
“No . Well, sorry to say this. Things happen. Officially, within the rules... kasi engkwentro eh (it is an encounter),” he pointed out.
Read more: 'Wala akong pinatay': Mayor Isko vows to adhere to 'rule of law' if elected president, Mayor Isko: No to EJKs
Domagoso noted that 97 percent of those arrested for illegal drugs in the city of Manila were caught alive.
"May prototype na dahil (there’s already a prototype because) I grew up in the streets, I grew up with criminals, I grew up with that kind of environment, ako pa mismo ang nagtuturo sa lespu minsan kung pano sasakotihin (sometimes I’m the one who teaches them how to arrest them),” he said.
While he was exposed to that kind of environment during his youth, Domagoso said he had never tried taking any kind of drugs.
“Never. Not solvent, not shabu, not damo, sudoplex, pidol, corex tapos cocaine. Ayoko kasi masisira ulo mo eh,” he said.
Domagoso, meanwhile, also believes that the Philippines cannot be considered as a narco state amid the horror in the country’s war on drugs.
“Unang-una hindi ako naniniwala na narco country tayo (First thing first, I do not believe that we are a narco country), unlike ‘yung Colombian era in the 70’s and ‘80s. We have not reached that far. It can destroy a country."