After ‘biggest’ drug haul, Marcos tells syndicates: Aabutan namin kayo

In the wake of what has been described as possibly one of biggest drug busts in the country’s history, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday warned members of drug syndicates that his administration would prosecute them with the full force of the law.

“Bahala kayo sa ginagawa ninyo basta’t tuloy-tuloy lang kami. Aabutan din namin kayo. Maliit lang ang Pilipinas,” Marcos said in an ambush interview after inspecting the inventory of the reported P13.3 billion worth of drugs in Alitagtag, Batangas.

(We will not relent in our efforts. We will catch up with you eventually. The Philippines is a small country.)

He was joined by Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., who announced Monday that the scale of the two-ton shabu haul in Alitagtag may be a historic first.

The President, meanwhile, highlighted that the latest haul was the “biggest” under his administration, but no one was killed in the operations.

“I would like also to point out, that this is the biggest shipment of shabu na nahuli natin, but not one person died. Walang namatay. Walang nagputukan, walang nasaktan (Nobody got hurt. No shots were fired, nobody was hurt),” Marcos said.

“Basta’t in-operate natin nang dahan-dahan. ‘Yun naman dapat ang approach, para sa akin, ‘yun ang dapat na approach sa drug war, na ang pinakaimportante is matigil natin ang pag-ship ng mga drugs dito sa pagpasok sa Pilipinas,” he added.

(Let’s operate slowly but surely. For me, that should be the approach to the drug war. What’s most important is that we stop the drug shipments from entering the country.)

The President noted the need for swift cooperation among law enforcement agencies of different countries as he disclosed that the seized methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as shabu, was shipped and has “high potency,” based on the tests done by the Philippine National Police.

Marcos added that “there is no single bullet” to address this drug problem.

“Kailangan talaga kayod (Hard work is really needed). We have to operate, we have to gather intelligence, we have to coordinate with Interpol, we have to coordinate with intelligence and drug agencies of other countries around of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), of Asia, kung saan man nangagaling because this is an international crime (regardless of where the drugs are coming from because this is an international crime),'”  he said.

“Para… napakahirap magpasok ng drugs sa Pilipinas (Drugs are so difficult to bring into the country)… That’s the situation that we are hoping to achieve. Pero (But) the only way to get back is to continue to prosecute the drug [lords] but well within the law. So that cases can be filed and the syndicates can be identified, the guilty parties can be arrested and eventually imprisoned, and that is the point of what we are doing. That’s the only way to approach it,” he added.

Marcos also maintained that the Marcos administration will prosecute even “powerful politicians” who are involved in drug trade.

“Kahit sino man ang nakita natin may kasabwat dito sa drug trade, kahit sino man, kahit politiko man, powerful politician, pulis o kung sinuman ay talagang iniimbestiaghan natin,” he said.

(Regardless of who we find as having ties to the drug trade, even if they are powerful politicians, policemen or whoever, we will investigate these cases.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News