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Philippines "successful" on 1st phase in war against illegal drugs: official

Xinhua, September 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Philippine government has been "successful" in its first phase on the war against illegal drugs, a senior government official said on Thursday.

"We'd also like to emphasize the fact that phase one of the campaign against drugs has been successfully implemented and mainly to create awareness of the depth of the drug menace," said presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella.

Over 600,000 drug users and pushers have surrendered to authorities apparently for fear that they would become victims of extrajudicial killings.

Abella said the second phase of the campaign would cover "swift disposition of justice, looking into the cases and investigating."

Of the more than 2,000 killed drug suspects since July 1, more than half of them were allegedly perpetrated by vigilantes.

The spokesman said part of the second phase is the construction of rehabilitation centers for the "rehabitable."

"We do have people who have already promised and have committed to - for example providing for rehabilitation centers and so we have that, we have access to certain provisions," he said.

Abella added that several groups are already helping do counselling and other assistance in relation to the program. Endit