The Philippine National Police (PNP) vowed to continue the relentless campaign against illegal drugs even with the change in national leadership by June 30.
Police Maj. Gen. Valeriano De Leon, director of the PNP Directorate for Operations, said they will continue to sustain the gains they achieved since the aggressive drug war started in July 2016, or a day after President Duterte took over Malacanang.
"President Duterte is the inspiration of the PNP and the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) in the campaign against illegal drugs. Therefore, the Filipino people can expect that we will continue this to ensure the protection of the youth and the country," said De Leon.
De Leon issued the statement as he said the PNP respects the decision of the Department of Justice to indict four policemen in connection with the Commonwealth Avenue misencounter between operatives of the Quezon City Police District and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) last year.
"This is another proof that the justice system in our country works and this will serve as an opportunity for both the PDEA agents and the policemen concerned to explain their side as part of the due process," said De Leon.
"Both the PNP and the PDEA have already learned their lessons from that unfortunate incident, which has become an avenue for a stronger partnership, particularly in the campaign against illegal drugs," he added.
De Leon was referring to the coordination protocol signed between then PNP chief Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar and PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva in July last year based on a series of meetings between representatives of the two agencies to iron out policies that would prevent similar incidents in the future.
Barely two months after the coordination protocol was signed, the government's anti-narcotics operatives seized 500 kilos of shabu in Zambales and confiscated 80 kilos more in a follow-up operation in Bataan. The two operations also led to the deaths of three bigtime drug traffickers and the arrest of four more Chinese drug traffickers.