Duterte full control on the war in illegal drugs: spokesman

January 6, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte is in full control on the war on drugs as call for economic sanctions by foreign countries on the Philippines is uncalled for, Malacanang said on Friday.

Presidential Communications  Secretary Martin Andanar was reacting on an article entitled "Duterte's drug war in the Philippines is out of control, he needs to be stopped" that came out from United Kingdom-based publication The Guardian.

Andanar cited some achievements. He said that 1,017,869 individuals "voluntarily" surrendered to the authorities for being drug users and pushers based on the data from the Philippine National Police from July 1, 2016 to January 5.

Andanar also noted the Social Weather Stations survey on December 3-6 showing  nine out of 10 Filipinos believe the drug problem had declined in their areas since Duterte  took office.

The same survey indicated that a great majority of the Filipinos or 77 percent gave an excellent rating to Duterte’s drug war, he said.

"Public support for and trust in the President remain high as people feel secure in their homes, in the streets, day and night. Incidents of homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, and carnapping have gone down," he added.

Andanar  noted that index crime volume decreased by 31.67 percent from July to November 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. But in the same data, which came from the PNP, the number of killings increased.

Andanar  expressed hope other countries will treat the Philippines as "a sovereign nation and with mutual respect" as The Guardian stated that the international community could consider economic sanctions against the Philippines.

"The Guardian’s call for economic sanctions by foreign countries on the Philippines is uncalled for. Threats of withdrawal of development aid and other forms of assistance are totally unfounded," Andanar said.

The Guardian said  foreign governments should also consider withdrawing their aid to the Philippines if no change of direction materializes, citing the recent action of the United States deferring the more than $434 million grant package by its Millennium Challenge Corporation.

"The President remains undaunted as he will never compromise the dignity of the nation for foreign aid.  There is an enormous  drug problem in the Philippines and he is trying his best to keep the country from becoming a narco-state," Andanar said. Celerina Monte/DMS