President Ferdinand Macros announced on Tuesday that the Philippines has seized 1.8 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine, making it a record-breaking bust and affirming it was the right approach to the country’s drug war.
The drugs valued at over $230 million, were discovered on Monday during a search of a van in Batangas province located south of Manila, leading to the arrest of the driver.
President Marcos personally inspected the substantial drug haul on Tuesday, emphasizing that it was the “biggest shipment of shabu ever caught” in the Philippines. Shabu, the local term for cheap and highly addictive crystal meth, is a significant concern in the country. However, it remains unclear whether this seizure represents a record-breaking value or quantity of drugs in the Philippines.
“But not one person died, no one died, no gunfight, no one got injured,” Marcos told reporters. “We did the operation carefully. That’s the right approach, for me, that should be the approach in the drug war.” Police were tracing the source of the drugs, but Marcos said they were not made locally.
Human Rights Watch Senior researcher Carlos Conde said that Monday’s drug bust proved that going after narcotics, “can be done without violence if authorities really do their job and follow due process”.
Conde challenged the Marcos administration, urging them to announce an end to the violent drug war and revoke Duterte’s orders for the brutal crackdown. “It’s time for Mr Marcos to walk the talk on drug policy reform,” Conde said.
