President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed law enforcement agencies to strengthen surveillance along the country’s coastlines to help block the smuggling of illegal drugs into the Philippines.
The directive follows recent incidents where fishermen from Bataan and Pangasinan discovered and surrendered shabu worth billions of pesos that were found floating in the sea.
“We still have a drug problem in this country. Syempre pumapasok pa rin ang shabu. So sabi ko hulihin ninyo ang malalaki at bantayan ninyo ang malalaki. At saka puntahan ninyo kung saan pumapasok, yun ang isara natin. And we are slowly doing that. Sinabi ko sa coast guard at PNP, bantayan na ninyo kasi ayokong bumalik sa merkado yan,” Marcos said.
“Sirain na ninyo kaagad. As quickly as possible and make sure na nandun kayo para pag sinabing so many tons, ilang tonelada, yun talaga ang nandyan. Hindi nababawasan. Bilangin ninyo nang husto tapos buhusan nyo ng gasolina, sunugin na ninyo,” he added.
The President said that while they hunt down big-time drug lords, the organized help of the police agencies would stop the activities of the small time drug dealers.
“Well, what is happening because we’re concentrating sa mga bigtime drug syndicate, drug lord. May balita na bumabalik-balik sa mga bara-barangay, yung mga small time. Kaya yung Cops on the Beat, that’s the solution to that,” he said.
“Kasi nagpapatrolya sila. Kahit sino kung dealer, hindi ka siguro mapapaiwan doon na mahuhuli ka lang ng pulis. So mapapalayo natin sila na maitigil na nila ang kanilang ginagawa.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported last week that approximately 1.2 tons of shabu, valued at P8.8 billion, were recovered by fishermen in the waters off Masinloc, Zambales; Santa Cruz, Ilocos Sur; and several coastal areas in Pangasinan.
Authorities suspect the drugs—found in at least 66 sacks and bearing similar packaging—originated from a single source, believed to be the Chinese-led Golden Triangle syndicate.
As a show of gratitude, the local government awarded P100,000 to nine Bataan fishermen who found the drugs in Zambales, while the PNP also provided them with sacks of rice. Police said that fishermen from Ilocos and Pangasinan will likewise receive government incentives.