Tuesday, February 02, 2016


STEP UP DRIVE AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS AND CRIMES


     
     Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. this week said the next administration should ramp up the campaign against illegal drugs and crimes. According to him, 20 percent of 42, 029 barangays nationwide have drug related cases.
    “I think the priorities of the next administration should be what people are worried about,” said Marcos. He noted that a recent survey shows the problem of illegal drugs and crimes ranks first and fifth respectively, among the concerns of ordinary people.
    “Too often, many of these crimes turn out to be drug-related”, he added.
    Marcos said that according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency more than 20 percent of the 42, 029 total barangays nationwide had drug related cases last year, with the National Capital Region having the highest rate of drug affected barangays at 92 percent.
    Likewise, Marcos said crime rate rose by more than three (3) times from 2010 to 2014 base on the annual reports of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The reports show that total crimes in 2014 reached 1.16 million cases compared to 324,083 cases in 2010.
    “Last August, the Philippine National Police reported that the number of crimes have gone up by almost 50 percent. In the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, or a total crime volume of 888, 445 compared to 603, 085 cases for the same period in 2014.”
    “The PNP later claimed there was actually a 15 percent deduction in the crime rate for the period as only 509, 924 cases were verified as valid.”
    “No matter what the correct figure is, it is undeniable that incidences of crimes remain high”, Marcos asserted.
     With respect to the drug problem, Marcos said law enforcement authorities must set their sights on big time drug syndicates and drug lords.
    “But we also have to increase the capability of our law enforcers. We have to support them with training, with facilities, and with funding”, Marcos recommended.
    Marcos reiterated that additional support for law enforcers should be coupled with an honest to goodness effort to go after erring officers involved in criminal activities.
    “We have to discipline them. We have to investigate them. If need be, we have to change the systems so these crimes would not happen again”, Marcos concluded./MP 

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