Albayalde: PH Winning War on Drugs Based on Data

NUMBERS DON’T LIE. Based on the data from various law enforcement agencies, the government is winning the war on drugs, according to Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde.

Albayalde led the presentation of #RealNumbersPH at Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday. It’s a forum where consolidated data about the anti-illegal drug campaign were shown to the public.

Entry and Distribution Woes

Despite winning the war on drugs, Albayalde admitted that the entry and distribution of illegal drugs are still major problems. The country’s long shorelines make it more difficult to contain and prevent illegal drugs from coming in.

“We really have big problems when it comes to illegal drugs. We must admit that because we have seen that a lot of illegal drugs have been entering the country by sea,” he said.

One of the most recent cases is the several kilos of shabu found and surrendered by fishermen. The drugs were found floating off the waters of Quezon province with a tracking gadget attached to it.

Drug War Numbers

Based on the consolidated data from various law enforcement agencies, a total of 4,251 drug suspects were arrested from July 1, 2016 to April 30, 2018 in 98,799 anti-illegal drugs operations.

The total value of seized drugs and laboratory equipment, on the other hand, was estimated at P20.23 billion. The seized 2,676.60 kilos of shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride alone was valued at P13.81 billion.

Not included in the data is the surrender of about 1.3 million drug users according to the PNP. 184,252 of them have already graduated from various recovery and wellness programs across the country.

A Long Way to Go

Albayalde admitted that their accomplishments fall short on what they want to achieve for a drug-free Philippines.

“It is really hard to quantify but with what we see in its effects, we know that we are winning this war on drugs,” he said.

“There are less street pushers, the situation was not like before that buying drugs on the street was like buying a cigarette. It translates to lower crime volume all over the Philippines but on a personal note, maybe this is more or less half [of what we could achieve].”

Crime Volume Down

Albayalde also claimed that the crime rate went down due to the arrest and death of thousands of drug suspects. Crime against properties including robbery-holdup incidents decreased by 69 percent in Metro Manila according to the former NCRPO director.

Although the number of murder and homicide cases related to illegal drugs spiked during the anti-illegal drugs campaign in 2016, the PNP Chief Director General said that it went down after they made the necessary changes and improvements.

via Manila Bulletin / Martin Sadongdong, Aaron Recuenco