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With 2 in 100 Pinoys still using drugs, is Duterte crackdown a failure?

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Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W0Fl0okSBnE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA— President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said 2 in 100 Filipinos were still addicted to illicit drugs. What does this mean for his 4-year-old anti-narcotics drive that has left thousands dead? </p><p>For Duterte&#x27;s spokesman Harry Roque, this only meant that some groups were still profiting from drug trafficking. </p><p>&quot;Ang ibig sabihin lang po d&#x27;yan e talagang mayroon pa rin talagang maiitim ang budhi na patuloy ang pagkita nila dito sa pag-supply ng bawal na gamot,&quot; he told reporters on Tuesday.</p><p>(This just means that there are still people with an evil conscience who continue to earn from supplying illicit drugs.)</p><p>&quot;Wala naman po talagang bansa na nagiging 100-percent drug-free. Pero ang sinasabi ni Pangulo, iyan ay cornerstone ng kaniyang administration. Habang siya&#x27;y nagiging banta, not just as an ordinary criminal act kundi it is already a threat to national security, eh bibigyan po iyan ng highest priority ng ating Presidente,&quot; he added.</p><p>(There is no country that is 100-percent drug-free. But what the President is saying is that will be a cornerstone of his administration. As long as it as threat, not just as an ordinary criminal act but a threat to national security, the President will give it the highest priority.)</p><p>Duterte on Monday night said 167 million Filipinos were addicted to drugs, more than the 100-million population of the country. Roque said this was a &quot;typo error&quot; and that the President meant 1.67 million drug users. </p><p>A landmark United Nations report in June said tens of thousands of people in the Philippines may have been killed in the war on drugs since mid-2016 amid &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/04/20/near-impunity-for-drug-war-killings-in-philippines-un-report-says">near impunity</a>&quot; for police and incitement to violence by top officials.</p><p>Government has many times explained those slain in anti-drug operations had violently resisted arrest, prompting operatives to open fire and defend themselves. </p><p>The Philippines will &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/08/20/philippines-to-fully-cooperate-with-un-on-rights-issues-palace-says-after-aid-pledge">fully cooperate</a>&quot; with the UN on human rights issues after the international body pledged &quot;technical assistance&quot; to help the Duterte government probe killings, Malacañang recently said. </p><div><strong>— With a report from Reuters</strong></div>

<p>President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said 2 in 100 Filipinos were still addicted to illicit drugs. What does this mean for his 4-year-old anti-narcotics drive that has left thousands dead? <br /> </p>

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said 2 in 100 Filipinos were still addicted to illicit drugs. What does this mean for his 4-year-old anti-narcotics drive that has left thousands dead?

With 2 in 100 Pinoys still using drugs, is Duterte crackdown a failure?

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With 2 in 100 Pinoys still using drugs, is Duterte crackdown a failure?

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 20, 2020 03:42 PM PHT

|

Updated Oct 20, 2020 06:40 PM PHT

Read More:

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Duterte UN

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