A ranking police official of the Philippine National Police (PNP) has vowed to sustain the aggressive drug war amid concerns that the anti-illegal drugs operations would take a step back with the looming end of the term of office of President Duterte.
Police Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, PNP director for Operations, said police commanders across the country were already reminded to continue the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs to deny the illegal drugs syndicates the opportunity to expand their illegal operations.
On the part of the PNP leadership, De Leon said they developed a new strategy on how to sustain the gains of the Duterte administration in terms of illegal drugs campaign.
"There will be no let up. We will not stop this drug war. It is our inherent function," said De Leon.
He said aggressive operations and law enforcement would be backed by an equally aggressive information drive and education campaign aimed at students, who are often the target customers of illegal drug syndicates.
The new policy, according to him, focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration for drug dependents.
Some groups and individuals have expressed concern in recent days about the future of the war on drugs as the end of President Duterte's administration approaches.
De Leon said that there was no reason to worry that the new government would stop fighting the drug war.
"The new president surely appreciated what President Duterte had started and I am very certain that the incoming President Marcos knows the ill-effects of this," said De Leon.
"We believe he would help sustain the gains. He would even strengthen it," he added.
Since July 2016, the crime rate across the country has significantly decreased because of the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs.
He stated that this trend of peace and order must continue, especially because the national government wishes to concentrate more on the recovery from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.