(Eagle News)–The Palace on Saturday, Feb. 16, welcomed the latest Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed that a majority of Filipinos believe that the number of drug addicts in their area has decreased over the past year.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the fact that 66 percent believe this was such was a confirmation of the successful efforts of the campaign against illegal drugs, “a centerpiece program of his administration.”
Panelo said this was “notwithstanding the harshest criticisms, brickbats and pressures the current government is receiving here and abroad,” with “the political opposition and the detractors of the President (having) been most vocal in using the drug war to vilify the Chief Executive and his administration even bringing the issue to the International Criminal Court.”
He added the opposition has remained skeptical despite the “significant strides made by our authorities in relation to prohibited narcotics even pointing out there remains demand and supply on illegal drugs.”
“We ask them to stop playing blind dumb and instead listen to the people: 83 percent of people of Mindanao say there are less drug addicts there; 71 percent in the Visayas say there is a decrease; 67 percent in Metro Manila likewise say there is a decrease; while 54 percent in Luzon share the same sentiment,” Panelo said.
“Even as our people acknowledge the administration’s efforts to bring down the number of drug personalities, our focus and drive remain unwavering in destroying the drug apparatus and putting behind bars the drug pushers, with strict observance to operational protocols, until the last day of the President’s term of office in 2022,” Panelo added.
