MANILA, Philippines — After his term, President Duterte can be an asset for the incoming administration of president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a consultant in the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
PDEA director general Wilkins Villanueva said that with Duterte’s vast experience in the fight against illegal drugs, the Chief Executive could still play a major role in government after he steps down from office on June 30.
“He can be a good consultant for the anti-drug campaign,” Villanueva said in a press conference yesterday.
He pointed out that being the architect of the war on drugs, Duterte has full knowledge on how to address the country’s drug problem.
Villanueva noted the barangay drug-clearing program implemented during the term of former president Gloria Mapacagal-Arroyo was based on Duterte’s recommendations when he was still Davao City mayor.
“So you could just imagine, in the time of President Arroyo, he was already a consultant,” he said.
With 10,410 barangays still affected by illegal drugs, Villanueva stressed the need to continue the war on drugs during Marcos’ term.
For his part, Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said Duterte should be given a time to take a break before taking any role in government.
“Let us give him time to rest also,” he said.
Do it yourself
Danao yesterday dared human rights activists who continue to criticize President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs to “take up arms and try to arrest drug suspects themselves.”
Danao dared Duterte’s detractors to go to the frontlines of the anti-illegal drugs campaign and risk their lives just like police anti-narcotics officers.
“They should go first. I am challenging them now, go first. Arm yourselves with guns,” he said in English and Filipino during a joint press conference with the PDEA in Cavite.
Danao also dared human rights activists to also look at the cases of at least 800 police officers who were killed in the war on drugs.
“You are protecting criminals but the police, men in uniform, you can’t even hear anything from them,” he said.
For Danao, he prefers seeing drug pushers and criminals dead instead of police officers.
“I would rather see a criminal, a pusher, drug lord, lying on the ground than my PNP officers,” he said.
Critics have accused the Duterte administration of committing extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in the war on drugs wherein at least 6,248 drug suspects were killed in alleged shootouts withlawmen since 2016.