60,000 drug users, pushers have surrendered: Palace

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/nation/07/09/pic-1.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Thousands of self-confessed drug pushers and users surrender to authorities in Tagum City on July 9, 2016. <em>Bonna Pamplona, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><h2>&#x27;We have to seize the momentum,&#x27; says Andanar </h2><p>MANILA - A Palace official on Thursday called the Duterte administration&#x27;s war against illegal drugs a success, with tens of thousands of drug suspects having surrendered already to authorities.</p><p>&quot;We have to seize the momentum,&quot; Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Martin Andanar said.</p><p>He said, since the government started its intensified campaign against illegal drugs, almost 60,000 drug users and pushers have turned themselves in.</p><p>President Rodrigo Duterte, who won by a big margin in the May 9 elections, vowed to wage a &quot;bloody war&quot; against drugs as well as criminality and corruption.</p><p>&quot;The voluntary surrender of thousands of self-confessed users and pushers reaffirms our people&#x27;s renewed faith and trust in authorities. In his resolute campaign against drugs, the President has even made it possible to unite the populace in combating the illegal drug trade,&quot; said Andanar.</p><p>Andanar stressed, however, that government is against any form of extra-judicial killing. </p><p>Since May, over 200 suspects have been killed &quot;while fighting cops&quot; in legitimate buy-bust operations, according to police estimates and various news reports. Dozens have been killed by unidentified assailants.</p><div><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/v2/07/13/16/map-charts-the-death-toll-of-the-war-on-drugs" target="_blank">MAP, CHARTS: The Death Toll of the War on Drugs</a></div><p>&quot;Government is against any form of extra-judicial killings. We do not condone these acts. Government is here to save our people from the drug menace and punish the offenders, including the big-time ones,&quot; Andanar said.</p><p>&quot;The PNP (Philippine National Police) continues to investigate situations involving vigilante killings and operational aspects where deaths are reported,&quot; he added.</p><p>The Palace official said plans to build rehabilitation centers nationwide are being undertaken.</p><p>In Central Luzon, he said, police authorities are eyeing Subic and Clark to house drug dependents. </p><p>&quot;While the campaign against drugs is far from perfect, a generation of Filipinos have been saved from this scourge of society and destroyer of lives. Many communities are now relatively drug-free with record-high number of people giving up to authorities, choosing quieter and healthier lives,&quot; Andanar said.</p><p>READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/14/16/robredo-duterte-wont-condone-vigilante-killings" target="_blank">Robredo: Duterte won&#x27;t condone vigilante killings</a></p>

MANILA - A Palace official on Thursday called the Duterte administration's war against illegal drugs a success, as tens of thousands of drug suspects have already surrendered to authorities.

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60,000 drug users, pushers have surrendered: Palace

60,000 drug users, pushers have surrendered: Palace

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 14, 2016 08:41 PM PHT

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Palace

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Martin Andanar

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