Marcos: Philippines drug problem lessened sans violence

BERLIN — Sans violence, the Philippine government has “lessened” the narcotics problem in the country, President Marcos told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during their meeting here on Tuesday.

Marcos, who is in Germany for a three-day working visit, said his administration’s approach to the drug menace changed in a complete shift from the one taken by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte under the controversial “Oplan Tokhang.”

“It’s a big problem, but our approach has changed significantly,” the President told Scholz at the Chancellery after the German leader inquired about his approach to illegal drugs.

“I am diametrically opposed to handling the drug problem in that way, by confrontation, by violence and it really requires so much deeper understanding of the problem and the much deeper solution. So, yes, I think that we are also progressing when it comes to that,” he said.

While admitting that the illegal drug problem persists, Marcos said “the administration has already lessened the problem of illegal drug operations in the Philippines.”

He highlighted the significant changes his administration introduced in the campaign against illegal drugs, including the way it handles drug dependents.

Part of the reforms implemented is the reorganization of the Philippine National Police, removing officers involved “in some of the more nefarious practices,” Marcos noted.

“We are starting to move them out, and some of them have already been tried and convicted, now in jail and serving their time. It’s a difficult problem because it’s the money involved is so much that it’s hard for the government to compete with the kind of money that’s been thrown around by the drug lords,” he said.

In an interview with Philippine media yesterday, the President said he and Scholz discussed the ongoing probe of The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) into Duterte’s bloody drug war.

“He brought it up in the lunch and he just basically asked the status of that investigation into the drug war in the previous administration,” Marcos said.

“And I explained to him our concerns over jurisdiction that we have explained many times over. Our concerns over the jurisdiction of the ICC in the