More than 1 million Filipino drug users surrender to police: official

The number of Filipinos who admitted being illegal drug users and surrendered to police in the second half of 2016 has reached one million, a senior government official said Saturday.

"We are pleased to report that the drug surrenderers have now breached the one million mark," said Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar in a statement.

Figures from police show that from July 1 to Dec. 31, the total number of drug surrenderers is 1,007,153, he said.

The pushers and users voluntarily surrendered through the continuous efforts and relentless operations of the Philippine National Police to curtail illegal drug trade in the country in line with the president's directive, Andanar said.

When Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency on June 30, he declared an all-out war against illegal drugs. He tapped the help of the military as he declared the drug problem as a national security concern.

Under the government program, those who surrender will be regularly monitored by police, health and village authorities. Others undergo rehabilitation.

"Without a doubt the president's anti-drug war is a success. It is evident we are hitting the mark in our campaign against illegal drugs," Andanar said.

But more than statistics, he said the real score in the government's intensified anti-drug operations is that it has pulled down the country's crime rate by 32 percent.

Because of this, it was not surprising that the people's satisfaction, approval and trust of Duterte remain high, he said.

"People feel safer in the streets and at night because the number of theft, carjacking, robbery, rape, physical injury has decreased. At the end of the day, this is what counts," he said.

The official vowed there will be no let-up and the government shall continue to seize the momentum until the last drug pusher is out of the street.

Alongside the successful police operations is the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts, he said.

He said the government had moved on with the second phase of the drug war with the inauguration of the mega drug rehabilitation facility in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, a landlocked province in the Central Luzon region.

"We expect this to be in full gear by 2017 as we shift from the national security mode into the public health mode in our war against illegal drugs," said Andanar. Endit