• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. conferred an award to PLt. Col. Roberto Indiape in recognition of his relentless campaign against illegal drugs in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, during the 123rd Police Service Anniversary held at Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday.
The Kabankalan City Police Station, under the stewardship of Indiape, received a special award for having the most number of arrests on illegal drugs in the City Police Station Level, Class C Category, besting 115 other component cities all over the country.
In his speech, the President hailed the Philippine National Police (PNP) for conducting lawful, humane, and bloodless police operations in its bid to weed out criminality.
“Our crackdown on illegal drugs, smuggling, illegal gambling, private armed groups, human trafficking, and criminality has also strengthened significantly in ways that are not only effective but legal and lawful,” Marcos said.
“Indeed, police operations are now conducted as humane, as truthful, and as bloodless as possible,” he added.
The President said that the PNP’s partnership with the military has led to the neutralization of some 1,951 members of local and communist terrorist groups.
He also cited the police force’s intensified patrol operations and increased police deployment that contributed to lower crime rate, as well as the improved cybersecurity capability of the PNP.
For his part, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said that the police remains dedicated to preserving human life while pursuing fights against illegal drugs in the country.
“Our battle against drugs abuse transcends mere law enforcement. It fundamentally aims to uphold the very fabric of our society as we pursue our anti-illegal drug campaign targeting high-value targets and identifying drug sources,” Marbil said in his speech.
“Our efforts ensure the well-being and dignity of every member of the community,” he added.
Marbil said that around P36.5 billion worth of illegal drugs were seized since Marcos assumed the presidency in July 2022.
“Our anti-illegal drugs campaign has made remarkable strides with the value of drugs seized increasing to approximately P36.5 billion between July 1, 2022 and July 31, 2024 to include the P9.68 billion in Alitagtag, Batangas, the largest haul in history and the highest recorded seized,” Marbil said.
In this third State of the Nation Address on July 22, Marcos pledged to continue the bloodless campaign against illegal drugs in the country.
Marbil said that the new approach to combat illegal drugs has been effective in earning the trust and confidence of the people. | GB/PNA
