Giving more teeth to anti-drug drive

Following President Rodrigo Duterte's pronouncement that he wants the Philippine National Police back in the war against drugs, there's still no formal order from the Palace instructing the police to conduct operations against those involved in illegal drugs.

The police have expressed readiness to return to their anti-drug role, something the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the lead government organization in the campaign, has welcomed. But they have to wait until the president pulls the trigger.

Of course, another public outcry will be inevitable once the police start raiding drug dens and houses of suspected pushers. That is because the PNP has been accused of being involved in extrajudicial killings in many anti-drug operations in the past.

However, bringing back police participation remains the only option left for the Duterte administration. It is only through police operations that the government will be able to win the fight against drugs.

The fact that the supply of drugs in the country has significantly reduced during police participation in the crusade only shows the effectiveness of the PNP's role despite allegations of extrajudicial killings.

As Duterte intends to breathe new life into the PNP participation in the anti-drug campaign, authorities should look back and see what went wrong in previous police operations that cost not only the lives of many innocent civilians but also of some of those involved in drugs who are victims of extrajudicial killings.

This time, the police need to overhaul their approach and see to it their operations revolve around the lawful procedures. That is because it would be useless for them to return to the forefront of the drug war if the same lapses still spoil the campaign.

To give the anti-drug campaign more teeth, the government really needs the police if it wants to win the war. It cannot solely rely on the PDEA to eliminate the enemies once and for all given its limited resources.