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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Malala!': Dela Rosa slams 'return' of illegal drugs to the streets

'Malala!': Dela Rosa slams 'return' of illegal drugs to the streets

Published Feb 1, 2025 04:54 am

At A Glance

  • Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has slammed what he considers the resurgence of illegal drugs in the country.

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has slammed what he considers the resurgence of illegal drugs in the country.

"Ang daming tao na nagsasabi na nagpapasalamat sila sa war on drugs dahil safe na ‘yung kanilang environment (Many people say they are grateful for the war on drugs because their environment is now safe). So, for us, it’s a great success," Dela Rosa said, referring to former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Voicing his opinion about the current drug situation, Dela Rosa said things have gone "worse".

"Malala! Tanungin mo ang mga barangay kapitan, pumunta ka. Pumunta ka do’n sa ground…Wala kang maririnig na barangay kapitan na magsabi na, 'Sir, okay ang aming sitwasyon sa drugs. Perfect na, wala nang problema (It's worse! Ask the village captains, go ahead. Go to the ground... You won't hear any village captain say, 'Sir, our situation with drugs is okay. It's perfect now, no more problems),'" the Mindanao lawmaker shared.  

"Halos lahat magsasabi sa’yo [kahit] hindi nga natin tinatanong eh, lalapit sa atin at magsusumbong. 'Sir, andiyan na naman sila, Sir. Nagkakalat na naman. Noon nagsipaglayasan ‘yan, nagsipagtago. Ngayon, andiyan nanaman, parang candy nanaman na binebenta ‘yung drugs sa kalsada (Almost everyone will tell you [even] without us asking, they'll come up to us and report. 'Sir, they're here again, Sir. They're causing trouble again. Before, they scattered and hid. Now, they're back, and it's like drugs are being sold on the streets like candy),'" he added.  

During the past administration, Dela Rosa emphasized that there were around 1.6 million drug-linked individuals had surrendered, while at least 300,000 were arrested.  

He reiterated that the Duterte drug war needed to be that stringent to protect the future generations. 

Moreover, he said he doesn’t regret being the implementor of Oplan Tokhang.

“Kaya namin ginawa ni Pangulong Duterte ‘yon dahil mahal na mahal namin ang kabataan, na maisalba ang kabataan sa problema sa ilegal na droga. Kung wala akong pakialam… Anong pakialam ko, Chief PNP ako, after niyan, mag-retire ako, may retirement ako, bakit pa ako papasok sa problema? Dahil iniisip namin ang future generation ng Pilipinas (President Duterte and I did that because we deeply care about the youth and want to save them from the problem of illegal drugs. If I didn’t care... Why would I care? I'm the Chief PNP, and after that, I’ll retire and have my retirement. Why would I get involved in the problem? Because we are thinking about the future generation of the Philippines),” the former top cop said.

Dela Rosa led the implementation of Duterte's drug war during his tenure as the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief from 2016 to 2018.

Related Tags

Illegal drugs Philippine National Police (PNP) War on drugs anti-drug war Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa
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