Gov’t won’t slow down in war vs drugs despite concern on killings: Abella

April 19, 2017

Despite a decline in the net satisfaction by the public in a survey on the government's war against illegal drugs due to concern on extrajudicial killings, Malacanang maintained on Wednesday that its campaign would not stop. Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the drive against illegal drugs will be relentless until the drug apparatus is rendered inutile. "After all what is at stake is the national patrimony, the following generations of Filipinos, who will not only continue our dreams, be our God given social safety net, but also preserve our cultures, our gift to the world," he said. He believes Filipinos understand and support the campaign against hard drug traffickers and violators. A Social Weather Stations survey showed net satisfaction with the administration's campaign against illegal drugs dropped by one grade from excellent to very good, down by 11 points from 77 in December 2016 to 66  in March this year. Abella noted that in the same survey, 78 percent, a great majority of Filipinos, expressed satisfaction in the government's performance, "notwithstanding the negative criticisms we received here and abroad." "Many Filipinos are less worried about their personal safety; as they feel safe and secure in the streets and at home," he said. He cited that 70 percent of the public believe the administration is serious about solving the problem of so called "extrajudicial killings" (EJKs); and its efforts to cleanse the Philippine National Police (PNP) of scalawags. When Duterte assumed office in June last year, he declared an all-out war against illegal drugs. Since then, over 7,000 people allegedly involved against illegal drugs were killed either during police operations or allegedly by vigilantes. (Celerina Monte/DMS)