Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla has ordered the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to speed up the transfer to regional prisons of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who have been convicted of criminal cases involving illegal drugs and detained at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
"Speed up the planned transfer of illegal drug convicts to our regional prisons, you have our full support," Remulla told BuCor.
With his directive, Remulla vowed “to continue stepping up its collaborative efforts with other government agencies to combat illegal drugs and keep our communities safe.”
“Let me take this opportunity to reiterate that the DOJ is one with the present administration’s 'Bloodless Drug War' and we will always bring our A game in fighting the drug menace by steadfastly upholding the Rule of Law,” he declared.
He recounted the recent meeting of President Marcos with officials from the DOJ, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) to formulate strategies on how to strengthen the country’s fight against dangerous narcotics and other illicit substances.
He noted that the PNP earlier submitted to the President a report which showed that the total number of crimes recorded from July 1, 2022 to Jan. 31,2024 has plummeted to 324,368 which is 10.66 percent lower than the 363,075 crimes logged between Dec. 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022.
“These crimes which dipped down in number are categorically considered as drug-related crimes and despite the present administration’s significant victory against the menace of dangerous drugs, the DOJ promises to keep its foot on the gas in continuously finding ways to effectively combat the perpetrators behind them,” he also said.