President Marcos is shifting his anti-illegal drugs campaign from intensified rehabilitation to chasing after the "big guns" in the illegal drug trade in the country.
Marcos met with key officials on Monday, Nov. 11, to discuss the new strategy, which was prompted by an intelligence report that the top source of drug trade in the country remains inside the New Bilibid Prison, and the new reality that drug distribution has become more sophisticated.
According to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Marcos has met officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and Philippine National Police (PNP) to discuss the "new strategy" towards the fight against illegal drugs.
"For the longest time, we have been concentrating on the consumption side, arresting them on street levels, arresting them on crimes they committed on the buy-bust. This time, we are going heavy on the supply side, chasing after the big guns, the big suppliers, the main men involved in the importation of drugs," Remulla said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Remulla bared that the President was the one who brought up to the key officials about the continued presence of high-value detainees in the Muntinlupa jail dealing with illegal drug trade.
"Alam niya, siya ang nagsabi sa amin (He knows, he was the one who told us about it)," Remulla said.
He further bared that the trend in the seizures of small-time drug peddlers in the country was what prompted Marcos to declare war against the big suppliers.
"Pataas nang pataas ang seizures on the ground pero puro maliliit--puro one kilogram, two kilograms. Obviously there is something wrong kung puro ganun lang ang nahuhuli (The small-time seizures on the ground keep growing. Obviously there is something wrong if these are the only ones getting arrested)," Remulla said.
More sophisticated drug trade
According to the DILG chief, Marcos pointed out how the drug trade has become more sophisticated, prompting the administration to refocus its own drug war into going after the big players.
"The drug trade is more sophisticated now, they use more sophisticated methods and distribution, they use crypto currency to hide their proceeds. So it's a different war altogether," Remulla said.
He also disclosed that the government has already identified those who are possibly involved in the large-scale drug trade within Bilibid. They are now being investigated, including jail guards up to their supervisors, he added.
"The personalities have been identified. I am not at liberty to discuss it. Hindi ko muna pwedeng sabihin (I cannot disclose it yet) but the meeting was about going after the supply side of the drug war," Remulla said.
He also revealed that Marcos ordered the agencies to take proactive steps to separate the high-value detainees inside the Muntinlupa and sett up a maximum security facility for them somewhere in the Philippines.
Remulla said the "operations will start pretty soon."
"Yung first identification namin are the 200 high value detainees in Muntinlupa who are apparently are still active, from interceptive communication and intelligence briefings. The other high value targets are... a lot of them are based abroad," he said.