PRESIDENTIAL candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday warned that the country will become a narco state if the disorder brought by illegal drugs does not end.
Davao City Mayor Duterte said the country was already showing alarming signs of becoming a narco state.
“In the national capital region where the country’s capital is situated, the government had admitted that 92 percent of the barangays are already infiltrated by illegal drugs,” Duterte said.
“If Manila, the country’s seat of power, is helpless to address this, what more the other parts of the country where government presence is weak?”
Duterte also cited the presence of international drug syndicates in the country such as the Sinaloa drug cartel, a Mexico-based group that he said was the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the west.
“This is a clear national security threat. This is an invasion of a new kind,” Duterte said.
“Drug lords domestic and foreign have declared a war against our families and children and the government is helpless about it.”
Cayetano said that if he and Duterte were elected, they would implement national, regional and international strategies to combat drug trafficking.
“We will also strengthen the five pillars of our criminal justice system. Drug trafficking thrives best in countries where there is grave insecurity and injustice,” Cayetano said.
He said they will push to develop the regions to provide the people with alternative livelihood.
He and Duterte will enforce stricter immigration laws to prevent international drug syndicates from entering the country.
“We will not allow the disorder to continue and our country to become a narco state,” Cayetano said.
“We will build a strong state to provide bold solutions and swift action to bring about real change. Under the Duterte-Cayetano watch, everyone will be afraid of the law but everyone will be protected by the law.”