PNP vows ‘extreme caution’ if reassigned to war on drugs

“Full speed with extreme caution.” That is how Director-General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa describes the Philippine National Police’s (PNP’s) reentry into the government’s war on drugs.

But while President Duterte has harped on the PNP’s return to the campaign to rid the country of illegal drugs, Dela Rosa said there has been no official instruction yet from Malacañang or the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as to that effect.

When that time comes, though, the PNP Chief said: “We will be proceeding at full speed. We will not care whom we would cross paths with. Let us hit and hit this particular problem (proliferation of illegal drugs).”

At present, it is still the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) which has the official mandate to lead the war on drugs. The document that would pave the way for the return of the PNP is reportedly still on the desk of the President.

The PNP has twice been relieved of the task of clamping down on the sale of illegal drugs throughout the country because of controversial deaths during anti-drugs operations, particularly that of young citizens referred to as “casualties” of the war on drugs or “victims” of alleged extrajudicial killing (EJK).

This time, Dela Rosa said, the PNP is not only prepared to lead the war on drugs but also ready to be careful in the execution of its police operations so that lapses would not result in trivial outcomes.

Earlier, Dela Rosa admitted that the PNP should have cleansed its ranks first, before waging its war on drugs in order to deny scalawag policemen the opportunity to take advantage of the anti-crime campaign which was the campaign promise of Duterte when he sought the presidency.