Tag: anti-drug war

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Lacson Bares Expectations from President Duterte’s Final SONA

Image: CTTO

What is the status of the government’s vaccination program, and its fight against corruption? Are we better off than when President Rodrigo Duterte started his term in 2016? What can be done in the last year of his term?

These are among the questions that Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson hopes the President will address in his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) this July.

“After five years, where are we now, or what is the situation in the many aspects of his administration such as peace and order, fight against illegal drugs, corruption, economy, and foreign policy, particularly the West Philippine Sea? We want to hear what happened in the last five years – and moving forward for the last year of his administration, what can still be done?” Lacson said at a media forum in Manila on Sunday.

“But it is critical to update us on the government’s response to the pandemic. This includes the status of the government’s vaccination program. This is important because many Filipinos still do not trust the vaccine. In the meantime, the government must continue its campaign to gain the people’s trust in vaccines, based on science,” he added.

Basahin sa TAGALOG: Mga Inaasahan sa Huling SONA ni Pangulong Duterte, Isiniwalat ni Ping
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Letter to the Editor: Failed drug war [Panay News]

To Panay News: We wish to set the record straight regarding some claims by Mr. Roberto “Bert” Ladera in his March 4 column in Panay News – including that Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson is belittling the efforts of our law enforcers in battling the menace of illegal drugs, when he said that the anti-drug war has not succeeded.

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Ping: Koordinasyon sa Anti-Drug Ops Klaruhin Para ‘di na Maulit ang ‘Misencounter’ ng PDEA at PNP

Kailangang pagbutihin ng mga awtoridad ang mga polisiyang ginagamit sa operasyon laban sa ilegal na droga upang hindi na maulit ang madugong misencounter na nangyari sa pagitan ng mga operatiba ng Philippine National Police (PNP) at Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Ayon kay Senador at dating PNP Chief Panfilo Lacson, ang isa sa mga sistemang dapat na isagawa sa usapin ng ilegal na droga ay dapat na ang PDEA ang magsisilbing “overseer” sa operasyon kung saan nakatutok lamang ito sa intelihensiya habang ang pagsalakay o pagtimbog ay ipapaubaya na sa mga sinanay na tauhan ng PNP.

“We have to resolve the trust issue between the PNP and PDEA. But it would be better if the PDEA acted as overseer in anti-drug operations, and focus on intelligence-gathering, whether it is technical or human intelligence,” paliwanag ni Lacson sa panayam sa kanya ng DZBB.

Ang nabanggit na sistema ay ginagamit na ng ibang bansang nagpapatupad ng seryosong kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga.

“In other countries, the output of intelligence work is shared with specially trained police units, with one or two PDEA operatives accompanying or ‘guiding’ the police force in the operation. That is the ideal situation where coordination is smooth and tight. The last thing we need is the reluctance of our agencies to work together because of what happened,” dagdag pa ni Lacson.

Related: Lacson Stresses Policy Adjustments to Prevent Repeat of PNP-PDEA ‘Misencounter’
Continue reading “Ping: Koordinasyon sa Anti-Drug Ops Klaruhin Para ‘di na Maulit ang ‘Misencounter’ ng PDEA at PNP”

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Lacson Stresses Policy Adjustments to Prevent Repeat of PNP-PDEA ‘Misencounter’

The government may need to adjust its policies to prevent a repeat of the deadly “misencounter” between Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operatives in Quezon City last Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Sunday.

Lacson said one such adjustment would involve the PDEA “overseeing” anti-drug operations and focusing on intelligence work, and leaving the assault operations to specially trained police personnel.

“We have to resolve the trust issue between the PNP and PDEA. But it would be better if the PDEA acted as overseer in anti-drug operations, and focus on intelligence-gathering, whether it is technical or human intelligence,” he said in an interview on DZBB radio.

“In other countries, the output of intelligence work is shared with specially trained police units, with one or two PDEA operatives accompanying or ‘guiding’ the police force in the operation. That is the ideal situation where coordination is smooth and tight. The last thing we need is the reluctance of our agencies to work together because of what happened,” he added.

Related: Ping: Koordinasyon sa Anti-Drug Ops Klaruhin Para ‘di na Maulit ang ‘Misencounter’ ng PDEA at PNP
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On the Claim of the ICC Prosecutor on the ‘War on Drugs’

I’m not sure what the ICC prosecutor actually meant by “reasonable basis to believe”. Under the ICC statute, reasonable grounds to believe is considered as an “unreasonably unclear evidentiary threshold”.

That said, in the realm of possibilities to prosecute the President for crimes against humanity, the statement of Prosecutor Bensouda may only be good as a press release and nothing more, at least at this point in time.

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