BERLIN—President Marcos on Tuesday said he strongly opposed the violent approach to handling illegal drug issues that were led by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, which led to thousands of deaths under the so-called “Operation Tokhang.”
The President made his remarks during his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as he voiced the government’s current initiatives in combating illegal drugs.
“I am diametrically opposed to handling the drug problem in that way, by confrontation, by violence and it really requires so much, much deeper understanding of the problem and the much deeper solution. So, yes, I think that we are also progressing when it comes to that,” the President stated after Scholz inquired about his current efforts against narcotics.
President Marcos, however, revealed that the proliferation of illegal drugs remained a huge concern for the administration.
“It’s a big problem, but our approach has changed significantly,” he said.
To clean up the mess of the bloody war on drugs, President Marcos said he ordered the flushing out of members of the Philippine National Police involved in “nefarious activities”.
“We are starting to move them out, and some of them have already been tried and convicted, now in jail and serving their time. It’s a difficult problem because the money involved is so much that it’s hard for the government to compete with the kind of money that’s been thrown around by the drug lords,” Mr. Marcos said.
The President said his administration has already lessened the problem of illegal drug operations in the country.
International groups and communities, including the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, criticized Duterte’s war on drugs.
According to Human Rights Watch, Duterte’s “Oplan Tokhang” caused 12,000 recorded deaths, with 3,000 attributed to the PNP.