Office of the Senate Majority Leader
Alan Peter S. Cayetano
Rm. 603 GSIS Complex Senate of the Philippines Roxas Blvd Pasay City
PRESS RELEASE
14 January 2016
Duterte-Cayetano will not allow country to become "Asia's Mexico," to go after local “El Chapos"
Presidential contender and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte said the country has no place for "El Chapos" as he reiterated his commitment to fight the problem of illegal drugs, magnified by international drug cartels operating in the country.
"El Chapo" is the alias of the dreaded Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who was recaptured on January 8 of this year after six months on the run following his escape from a Mexican prison.
"I will wipe out illegal drugs in 3-6 months. I will not allow our country to become Asia's Mexico. We will not become a narco-state,” said Duterte who explained that the country's drug problem has become a national security issue.
Duterte's Vice President, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, added that he and Duterte have a comprehensive plan and stategy as well as the political will to win the war against illegal drugs. "With the help of the people, we will end the reign of drug lords and make our streets safe again for our people," he said.
On January 2015, Horacio Hernandez, a Mexican national suspected to be part of Guzman's drug cartel, was arrested by the PNP’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Force and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Makati City after selling P12 million worth of cocaine to undercover agents.
Last Tuesday, around P180 million worth of suspected “shabu” or methamphetamine hydrochloride were seized in Valenzuela City from two Chinese-Filipino men, both believed to be members of the "Asia Drug Network," an international drug network operating in China, Philippines and Hongkong.
Duterte said the country's crime situation, particularly drug trafficking, has become so dire that no less than bold solutions and swift actions are necessary to end this debacle.
"We will not allow our country to become a Narco State like some countries in Latin America. We will reclaim our streets from the drug lords and criminals who have made them unsafe. We will bring the war to their doorsteps. If they want to play rough, I will redefine to them the meaning of 'rough,'" Duterte said, referring to criminals and drug syndicates.
Cayetano said that 92 percent of barangays in the National Capital Region (NCR) are infiltrated with drugs. He also said that 50 percent of those in jail are because of drug-related cases.
Cayetano said if elected, he and Duterte will round up the big-time drug lords of the country, local and international alike, by combining the elements of the military and the police and modernizing their crime-fighting strategies such as creating a national anti-crime hotline number similar to Davao's 911 emergency hotline.#
