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Duterte says military needed vs illegal drugs; 'enemies' include rights advocates

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John Gabriel Agcaoili, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/11/23/20201121-duterte-apec-virtual-meeting-prib-6.jpg"/><figcaption>President Rodrigo Duterte at the Malacañang Palace during the virtual 27th APEC Economic Leaders&#x27; Meeting on November 20, 2020. Toto Lozano, Presidential Photo/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said illegal narcotics in the country is a national security issue and the military has to be included in anti-illegal drugs operations.Duterte, in a public briefing, claimed that around 200 to 300 drug suspects are being caught every day, stressing how &quot;pernicious&quot; illegal drugs activities is in the Philippines.&quot;I&#x27;d like to pronounce it again that there&#x27;s a declaration by me, based on a proclamation also of President (Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo before raising the issue of drugs a national security matter. That&#x27;s why kasali na ang military diyan, because if it&#x27;s a national security, it is now the welfare of the state at stake,&quot; he said.&quot;That&#x27;s why hindi lang ito trabaho ng pulis. Eh national security eh. &#x27;Di ko naman inulit. So the military also has to participate,&quot; he added.Duterte told anti-narcotics operatives to ignore human rights advocates&#x27; calls to stop the country&#x27;s bloody drug war, which has killed thousands of people, including children, in the country.&quot;Kapag umatras ako, walang mangyayari sa Pilipinas sa panahon ko. Gawain ninyo &#x27;yan kapag di na ako Presidente,&quot; he said.Duterte warned human rights activists, including from abroad, not to &quot;tinker with the drug problem&quot; in the Philippines. He even aligned them with notorious drug groups Sinaloa Cartel and Bamboo Triad as &quot;enemies&quot; of the state.&quot;Di talaga [sila] kalaban na patayan. They&#x27;re out to discredit, they&#x27;re out to send to prison somebody who&#x27;s doing his work,&quot; he said.Duterte echoed his past statements that human rights issues over the country&#x27;s drug war is &quot;his alone.&quot;&quot;&#x27;Wag kayong matakot pumatay. Hayaan mong &#x27;yang human rights. Basta you do it in accordance with law,&quot; he said.Last June, the United Nations said tens of thousands of people in the Philippines may have been killed in the war on drugs since mid-2016, amid &quot;near impunity&quot; for police and incitement to violence by top officials.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/04/20/near-impunity-for-drug-war-killings-in-philippines-un-report-says">&#x27;Near impunity&#x27; for drug war killings in Philippines, UN report says</a></li></ul>Police have argued that their actions in the anti-drug campaign have been lawful and that deaths occur in shootouts with dealers resisting arrest.&quot;The human rights situation in the Philippines is marked by an overarching focus on public order and national security, including countering terrorism and illegal drugs,&quot; the UN said in a report.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/20/20/with-2-in-100-pinoys-still-using-drugs-is-duterte-crackdown-a-failure">With 2 in 100 Pinoys still using drugs, is Duterte crackdown a failure?</a></li></ul>Duterte last October claimed that more than 167 million Filipinos are addicted to narcotics, even though the Philippines&#x27; population stands just a little more than 100 million. He later blamed his &quot;poor eyesight&quot; for his erroneous statement.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EilFOZcc8BU?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>

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said illegal narcotics in the country is a national security issue and the military has to be included in anti-illegal drugs operations.

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said illegal narcotics in the country is a national security issue and the military has to be included in anti-illegal drugs operations.

Duterte says military needed vs illegal drugs; 'enemies' include rights advocates

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Duterte says military needed vs illegal drugs; 'enemies' include rights advocates

John Gabriel Agcaoili,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 24, 2020 02:59 AM PHT

Read More:

Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte

drugs

drug war

war on drugs

Duterte administration

Philippines

Philippine drug war

Philippine war on drugs

human rights

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