PNP’s anti-drugs war now focusing on 893 high-value targets – Albayalde
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said yesterday anti-narcotics operatives are now focusing on 893 high-value targets (HVT) involved in the illegal drugs trade.
Director-General Albayalde said this is the reason behind the reduction in the number of slain
suspected drug pushers and users. From the average of 105 a week at the height of the drugs war, the death toll has reduced to 23 a week.
He said the shift was part of the recalibrated drug war wherein anti-drugs police forces were instructed to run after key players in the drugs trade based on the information that would be provided by the intelligence community.
“We calibrated our war on drugs because that is part of our focus, a focus on high-value targets on our list,” said Albayalde.
More than 4,000 suspected drug pushers and users were killed in police operations since the drug war was launched in July 2016 — the peak was during the second half of 2016 and early part of 2017.
Thousands of suspected drug pushers and users were also killed by suspected vigilante groups that were reportedly emboldened by President Duterte’s war on drugs.
Sources said the number of homicide investigations since July 2016 has already reached more than 23,000 but police said only a few of them are related to illegal drugs.
The PNP denied the 23,000 homicide cases figure and is yet to release the data on what it first referred to as Death Under Investigation. The last data release by the PNP on Death Under Investigation — now referred to as Homicide Cases Under Investigation, was in December 2016.
“Before, we all know that there were some who took advantage of that. Now, because of our recalibrated approach, we are now focusing on those listed and high value targets,” said Albayalde.
President Duterte has declared that the war on drugs will continue to be relentless and chilling during his third State of the Nation Address on July 23 and this prompted the PNP leadership to recalibrate its illegal drugs campaign.
“However, it would only be frightful and chilling to those who will continue to use and peddle illegal drugs, particularly the 893 high value targets (HVTs) our intelligence community has already identified. They are the ‘merchants of death’ who, by the plague they are spreading, are willfully violating the human rights of the majority of Filipinos to live in a society free from the scourge of illegal drugs. ‘Surgical and chilling’ will be the trademark of the reinvigorated anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality campaign of the PNP,” said Albayalde.
“This is to deliver a strong message of the “certainty of punishment” to high value targets, their patrons and protectors and all those who provide criminal support systems that sustain the illegal drug trade,” he added.
Aside from the high value targets, Albayalde also ordered the accounting of the remaining 1,656 drug users and the monitoring of the whereabouts and activities of almost 1.3 million drug users and street pushers who already surrendered.
Expanded rehab program The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has expanded its drug rehabilitation program to help drug surrenderers reintegrate back to their families and communities.
“The Yakap Bayan, which formerly focuses on drug rehabilitation, has now evolved into the Yakap Bayan Community Mobilization and Support Program (CMSP) in the Southern Tagalog Region,” DSWD Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns Anton Hernandez explained.
The implementation of the rehabilitation program using the Yakap Bayan framework aims to capacitate former drug dependents and turn them into active and productive members of the society, specifically, community leaders and disaster volunteers.
He said the program was formed through the coordination and collective strength of various government agencies to provide the necessary services to the people.
Hernandez earlier led the YakapBayan: Community Mobilization and Support Program Outreach Activity held in Brgy. San Diego, Lian, Batangas.
It aimed to bring various programs and services of the government closer to Southern Tagalog, especially to the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas in the region.
This activity is the second YBCMSP outreach activity held after its first leg in Sariaya, Quezon.
Hernandez encouraged the residents to continue to support the administration by participating in the government’s nation-building efforts and thanked the participating agencies for their significant contributions to the activity. (With a report from Ellalyn B. de Vera-Ruiz)