Duterte's drug war a 'catastrophic failure' after PNP officers indicted over staged bust — solon
MANILA, Philippines — A House lawmaker on Tuesday, January 14, said the indictment of 30 police officers in a 2022 anti-drug operation for planting evidence and staging arrests exposes the “catastrophic failure” of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The National Prosecution Service filed charges against 30 police officers on Monday, January 13, involved in the seizure of 900 kilograms of methamphetamine in Tondo, Manila worth P6.7 billion.
“This fabricated drug haul is not an isolated case — it’s a damning indictment of Duterte’s entire approach to governance,” Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte, 2nd District) said in a statement.
Barbers, who chairs the House Quad Committee, said the case is an example of the “alleged systemic abuse fostered” by former President Rodrigo Duterte in his anti-illegal drug policies.
“While I supported the anti-drug campaign of the previous administration as a necessary response to a growing crisis, it is now undeniable that it became a catastrophic failure,” he said.
Barbers also mentioned that the indictment aligns with the Quad Comm’s findings in its investigation into Duterte’s drug war and extrajudicial killings, citing testimonies from police officers themselves about an alleged reward system within the Philippine National Police (PNP) that “turned it into a criminal enterprise.”
“Instead of upholding justice, [the drug war] opened the floodgates to corruption in the PNP, fostered a culture of impunity that left thousands of innocent lives destroyed, and even allowed recycled drugs to poison our streets again,” he added.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Monday the “fabricated drug haul” is likely part of a “grand conspiracy” related to the purported reward system.
RELATED: DILG chief: Reward system may have driven criminal enterprise in PNP
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced plans to investigate further anti-illegal drug operations during the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2022, with a particular focus on the reward system.
“This only confirms what we in the Quad Comm have uncovered — the Duterte administration’s reward system turned law enforcement into a criminal enterprise. It prioritized kill statistics and inflated accomplishments over genuine reform and public safety,” Barbers said.
The lawmaker emphasized that the DILG’s investigation into anti-illegal drug operations, a key recommendation from the Quad Committee, paves the way for reforms aimed at "dismantling the culture of impunity" within the PNP.
“These reforms are not negotiable. We need to hold people accountable and prevent these atrocities from happening again. The days of unchecked abuse and corruption must end,” Barbers said.
Human rights watch groups estimate that EJKs during the Duterte administration ranged from 12,000 to 30,000.
In response, the Quad Committee filed House Bill 10986, or the Anti-Extrajudicial Killing Act, to define EJKs and establish penalties for those responsible.
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