The government’s campaign against the narcotics trade has scored some gains but it is still far from perfect, Malacañang admitted on Tuesday.
President spokesman Ernesto Abella acknowledged there have been “imperfections” in the anti-drug efforts without giving details.
“We continue to recognize the President’s campaign against drugs has been successful. A world-record of more than 600,000 surrenderees proved the effectivity of the campaign,” Abella said in a Palace press briefing.
“While it is not been perfect, it gives the government momentum to move on to the next phase,” he added.
Asked to elaborate on the imperfections in combating the drug menace, Abella said: “Let us respect the way it was said. In the campaign, it has been very successful but there have been imperfections.”
More than a thousand drug suspects have been killed either in police shootouts and summary executions since President Duterte came to power last June. Some human rights groups have denounced the government for the spate of extrajudicial killings in the country while others claimed the President might even be held accountable for war crimes.
The President however has rejected allegations of committing crimes against humanity such as genocide, insisting he is not a mass murderer like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Genalyn Kabiling)