PNP bares ‘new face’ of drug war
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to go all-out in its whole-of-nation approach to address the problem of drug supply and DEMAND IN THE COUNTRY, SPECIfiCALLY IN reforming illegal-drug users who have surrendered to authorities since 2016 to undergo treatment and rehabilitation.
PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on Tuesday said this approach is the “new face” of the anti-illegal drugs campaign of the police that is at the forefront of the national strategy against the country’s drug problem.
He reported that more than 1 million drug users who surrendered to authorities from July 2016 to January 2023 have graduated from the Recovery and Wellness Program and Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation initiated by the police force and local government units.
The Recovery and Wellness Program is the centerpiece of the AntiIllegal Drugs Operations through Reinforcement and Education (Adore), the final phase of the PNP’s anti-drug strategy.
“We are hitting hard on the sources of illegal drugs to disrupt or break the supply chain. At the same time, we are pursuing the demand-reduction strategy with renewed vigor by promoting drug abuse awareness prevention and resistance education among the vulnerable sectors of society,” the PNP chief pointed out.
He said anti-illegal drug operations are among the priorities of the PNP this year, “with greater emphasis on demand-reduction efforts” through rehabilitation, treatment and training while simultaneously staging intelligencedriven operations in supply reduction “by hitting hard” on big-time drug syndicates and large-scale drug traffickers.
Azurin earlier reported that the
PNP was off to “a strong start” in the national campaign against illegal drugs this year with encouraging results from police operations.
He said an estimated P81.2 million worth of illegal drugs was confiscated during the first 16 days of 2023.
The illegal drugs were seized during 1,831 police operations conducted from January 1 to 16 that also resulted in the arrest of 2,518 drug offenders, among whom are 146 high-value individuals.