PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., on Tuesday touted his government’s “bloodless” war against illegal drugs, noting that about P62 billion worth of crystal meth had been seized since he started in office in June 2022.

The confiscation prevented the illegal drugs from being peddled on the streets, sparing countless Filipinos from addiction, he said during an inspection of recently recovered drugs along the coast of northern provinces worth P8.87 billion.

“We saved many of our countrymen,” he said in Filipino. “If these got circulated, many more people will get addicted, many more will die of overdose and many more lives will get destroyed.”

During the inspection at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) headquarters in Quezon City, the President said the contraband, which weighed more than 1,300 kilos, were found by local fishermen floating in the sea from Ilocos to Zambales provinces in the country’s north.

“[This] is the largest drug haul in the history of the Philippines so far for this last six-month period,” Mr. Marcos said. “All in all, in the last three years, we have been able to interdict P62 billion worth of methamphetamine.”

No cases have been filed, and not one suspect has been apprehended in connection with the floating drugs.

Authorities remain uncertain about the origin of the drugs or the identities of the smugglers, citing the lack of direct evidence or witness accounts.

The President inspected the illegal drugs as he renewed his government’s push for a “bloodless” but relentless campaign against the illegal drug trade. 

The President reaffirmed his directive for law enforcement agencies, including the PDEA, Dangerous Drugs Board and Philippine National Police to sustain their crackdown on narcotics syndicates, but under a rights-based framework.

“It has been described as a bloodless war on drugs, and this is what we are aiming for,” he said. “But nonetheless, despite the fact that we do not kill people that are just suspected of having anything to do with drugs… we are handling the drug problem in a different way.”

His predecessor Rodrigo R. Duterte is now under the custody of the International Criminal Court and will be tried in September for crimes against humanity in connection with his drug war that killed thousands of drug suspects.

Mr. Marcos highlighted the government’s commitment to help drug users recover from addiction instead of punishing them. “When a person is hooked on drugs, we help them quit that habit,” he added in Filipino.

He ordered the police to intensify operations not only against large syndicates but also against small-scale dealers operating in local neighborhoods, especially those near schools and residential areas.

PDEA is expected to burn the confiscated drugs in Capas, Tarlac on June 25. — C.M.A. Hufana