Marcos trumpets ‘bloodless’ drug war

IT WAS the biggest drug haul and bloodless too, unlike during President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war where thousands of alleged drug users and traffickers were killed in police operations. And President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. does not see any reason to change his approach in the war on drugs following the recent seizure of P13.3 billion worth of crystal meth in Batangas province.

“No, quite the contrary, why will we change?” Marcos told reporters when asked if his administration intends to shift the approach of its anti-illegal drug operation following the confiscation of over two tons of crystal meth at a checkpoint in the village of Pinagkurusan in Alitagtag town. 

Marcos said that the seizure of illegal drugs in Batangas is considered to be the biggest drug haul in the Philippines without resulting in deaths or violence. The seized crystal meth surpassed the previous record of 1,589 teabags of crystal meth worth P11 billion in Infanta town in Quezon province in March 2022. 

Marcos directed law enforcers to adopt a holistic approach to the country’s drug problem by emphasizing a public health approach while going after large-scale drug syndicates in the country.  

“So, it’s much more than it has been in the past. So, it’s the most successful approach to the drug war so far. So, why will we change it? We won’t change it; we’ll continue to do what we are doing. Of course, I cannot explain to you every detail of what we are doing, but we will continue to do what we are doing,” he said.  

Marcos previously highlighted the significant changes his administration introduced in the campaign against illegal drugs which is a far cry from the deadly war on drugs by Duterte - who is now under investigation by the International Criminal Court.

He noted that part of the reforms is the reorganization of the Philippine National Police to flush out some of the police officers involved “in some of the more nefarious practices” that were undertaken during the previous Duterte administration.

ICC

On January 26, the ICC announced that it had granted the Prosecutor’s request to resume investigation into the “Situation of the Republic of the Philippines.”

The ICC indicated that “following a careful analysis of the materials provided by the Philippines, the Chamber is not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the Court’s investigations”.

Having examined the submissions and materials of the Philippine government, and of the ICC Prosecutor, as well as the victims’ observations, the Chamber concluded that the various domestic initiatives and proceedings, assessed collectively, do not amount to tangible, concrete and progressive investigative steps in a way that would sufficiently mirror the Court’s investigation.

This conclusion of the ICC mirrors the earlier findings of the Investigate Philippine Commission of Inquiry which found that domestic measures were effectively not functioning, and there was no evidence to support the Philippine government’s contention that victims could find justice in the Philippine courts. The judicial system itself was in fact being wielded as an instrument in the Philippine government’s campaign of state terror.

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines headed by Peter Murphy welcomed the ICC decision. “We are extremely appreciative of the decision of the ICC. It offers a mechanism for victims to continue their pursuit of justice against the Duterte Regime’s brutal war on drugs, on dissent and on the Moro and all indigenous peoples. Justice will still be served despite the Marcos administration’s decision to keep the Philippines outside the jurisdiction of the ICC and cover-up the crimes against humanity committed by the police and the military under Duterte,” he said.

Drug killings

In November 2022, Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla reported to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review that over 17,000 cases of drug killings involving police officers had been reviewed, resulting in a small number of disciplinary actions.

But Murphy said there is no way that this level of inquiry - most unlikely to be genuine -amounts to an investigation of the crime against humanity of murder which the ICC was investigating.

“ICHRP has full confidence in the impartiality of the ICC. We urge the ICC to vigorously pursue the full investigation of the previous Duterte administration for these crimes against humanity so that, finally, justice may be served and impunity ended,” he said.

Murphy, an Australian-based human rights advocate, led Investigate PH, a three-part investigation by an international commission on the extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, abductions and disappearances in the Philippines since July 1, 2016, when Duterte came into power. (Vera Files, ABS-CBN News, Mindanao Examiner)