Press Release
January 23, 2016

Marcos: Arrest Of Lt. Col. Marcelino Should Be Wake Up Call Against Illegal Drugs

SENATOR Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. has said the arrest of a ranking military officer in a drug raid should be a wake-up call to everyone that the drug problem has gotten worse and that the only way to solve it is for the entire nation to unite against it.

In an interview, Marcos branded as "very disturbing" the arrest of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, a former officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), saying it just means that the state of the drug problem in the country is very serious.

"This is a very disturbing development. Kitang-kita natin na talagang malalang-malala na talaga ang problemang ito. At kahit na ang ating mga alagad ng batas ay nagiging involved na," he stated.

Marcos pointed out that being so, the only solution to put an end to the illegal drug problem is for the whole country to unite. "We must galvanize, we must motivate the entire country, ang ating mga magulang, ang ating mga guro, ang ating mga simbahan, mga pulis, mga korte, mga prosecutor, dapat lahat ay magkaisa para mabigyan na ng solusyon ang problemang ito," he said.

Marcos said that according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), more than 20 percent of the 42,029 total barangays nationwide had drug-related cases in 2014, with the National Capital Region having the highest rate of drug-affected barangays at 92 percent.

Likewise, Marcos said crime rate rose by more than three times from 2010 to 2014 based on the annual reports of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The reports show that total crimes in 2014 reached 1.16 million cases compared to 324,083 cases in 2010.

He stressed that solving the drug menace should be one of the top priorities of the next administration because of its ill-effects in peace and order and the youth.

"Ang pinag-uusapan dito ay hindi lamang kriminalidad na dulot ng droga, kundi ang binibiktima ay ang ating kabataan at sinasabi natin palagi ay ang kabataan ang ating pag-asa. Wala tayong pag-asa, hindi tayo magiging progresibo kapag sinira na nila ang buhay ng ating mga kabataan," he said.

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