Over 170 Metro Manila police officers charged with drug-related cases in 2023 – President Marcos
In a video message on Tuesday, Jan. 9, President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. revealed that more than 170 police officers in Metro Manila have been charged with drug-related offenses in 2023. These offenses include the planting of evidence, unlawful arrest, and excessive violence within the NCR alone.
The President also disclosed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has pursued 151,818 court cases from 2022 to 2023, with 121,582 individuals being jailed for drug-related violations.
“This is due to the fact that sometimes our officials commit such acts, but we will not neglect them. So what happened was, 177 police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses, including the planting of evidence, unlawful arrest, and excessive violence here in NCR,” Marcos said.
Emphasizing that the fight against illegal drugs will not slow down, Marcos stated that these are not just statistics but “live transformed” and “communities uplifted.”
The President’s announcement comes after the recent report from Malacañang on Jan. 4, which stated that around P10.41 billion worth of illegal drugs were confiscated and over 27,000 barangays were cleared of narcotics under Marcos’ drug war in 2023.
According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), over 56,000 suspects were arrested after more than 44,000 anti-illegal drug operations were conducted. Additionally, 23 provinces, 447 municipalities, and 43 cities have established their respective community-based drug rehabilitation programs (CBDRPs) as of Dec. 27, 2023.
The PNP also reported that 50 provinces, 1,160 municipalities, and 30 cities have functional Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) implementing anti-drug priorities at the local level.
Marcos also mentioned on Jan. 8 that 74 in-patient treatment and rehabilitation facilities were established in 2023.
