President Duterte on Tuesday said he would have to call the police back to his war on drugs, as the narcotics menace became resurgent during the campaign’s suspension.

Mr. Duterte said the recall would mean all police would return, but only some. He did not elaborate.

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But the chief of the Philippine National Police, Director General Ronald dela Rosa, told reporters that only select police would be deployed to press the war on drugs.

“We have to make sure all drug enforcement units are already clean. The vetting process will be stricter so that [undesirables] will not be able to get in,” Dela Rosa told reporters.

“All of those involved will have to be selected very carefully. There are many who are capable and are just waiting to be tapped. They should just wait,” he added.

Dela Rosa earlier said many local government officials had complained to him that drug pushers and users had become bolder after the PNP suspended its campaign against drugs.

“The longer we are not in the war on drugs, the more the problem is coming back. The situation is getting worse,” he said.

“It’s like the gains of the last seven months in our war on drugs are going to waste. So, the sooner [the PNP gets back], the better,” he added.

The PNP chief made the comment after Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano urged President Duterte over the weekend to relaunch the drug war.

More than 7,700 people have been killed by police and unknown assailants since Mr. Duterte launched the crackdown after taking office at end-June last year.

Mr. Duterte suspended the war on drugs in January after a series of scandals involving narcotics officers, including the kidnapping for ransom and murder of a Korean businessman.

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The President dismantled the police narcotics force and ordered the filing of charges against the officers involved in the murder of Jee Ick-joo, whose wife the narcs tricked into paying P5 million in ransom after killing him.

With the PNP sidelined, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) took the lead in the fight against drugs.

Mr. Duterte also ordered the military to help the government fight drugs.

On Tuesday, the PDEA and the Armed Forces of the Philippines signed an agreement for cooperation in the crackdown.

Under the agreement, the PDEA will be the lead agency in fighting drugs, with the military providing force in “high-impact operations” that involve the arrest of “high-value targets,” according to Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the military’s public affairs office.

The military will also expand its counterintelligence task force to help the PDEA identify, investigate and dismantle drug gangs, including people in the government and influential groups with links to drugs. —WITH REPORTS FROM CYNTHIA D. BALANA AND THE WIRES

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MOST READ</s>MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he would have to call the police back to his war on drugs, nearly a month after suspending the force from all operations in the bloody campaign.

Duterte said the recall would not mean all police would return, but some. He did not elaborate.

Duterte's police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, said on Monday drugs had returned to the streets in the past few weeks and police were ready to rejoin the campaign because "the sooner we return, the better".

Duterte suspended the Philippine National Police (PNP) from his anti-drugs operations after it was discovered that rogue drug-squad officers kidnapped and killed a South Korean businessman at the PNP headquarters.

More than 7,700 people have died since the campaign started eight months ago, some 2,500 in police operations.</s>Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he would recall police to fight his drug war, a month after he withdrew them and denounced the force as "corrupt to the core".

"I need more men and I have to call back the police again," Duterte told reporters, adding he had instructed his police chief to find young officers who were not corrupt to join anti-drug groups.

"At yesterday's command conference I ordered (him) to recruit young men in the Philippine National Police who are imbued with the fervour of patriotism," he said.

Duterte won presidential elections last year after promising to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.

Since then, police have reported killing more than 2,550 people, while more than 4,000 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.

Duterte had been unrepentant in the face of widespread international criticism of the drug war, including accusations the police were murdering people for their own gain and organising anonymous vigilante death squads.

Duterte repeatedly promised to shield police from prosecution if they were charged with murder for killing in the drug war.

But he was forced to change tack after an official investigation found anti-drug officers kidnapped a South Korean businessman late last year, then murdered him at the national police headquarters as part of an extortion racket.

"You policemen are the most corrupt. You are corrupt to the core. It's in your system," Duterte said on January 30, before announcing all police had been pulled off the drug war until their ranks had been "cleansed".

Duterte said then nearly 40 percent of the police force engaged in illegal activities.

Duterte handed the campaign over to the much smaller Drug Enforcement Agency, with support from the military.

The national police chief, Ronald Dela Rosa, said on Monday that gains in the drug war had been lost because his force had been withdrawn.

"The longer we are not in the war on drugs, the situation gets worse," Dela Rosa said.

Global rights monitor Amnesty International released a report on February 1 warning that the killings in the drug war may amount to a crime against humanity.

It accused police of fatally shooting defenceless people, fabricating evidence, paying assassins to murder drug addicts and stealing from those they killed or the victims' kin.

Duterte on Tuesday warned police who were sacked for corruption they would be killed if they resorted to drug dealing.

"If you make a mistake you will die. That's for sure. Your wife will be widowed," he said, referring to those who would be dismissed.</s>MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he would recall some police to fight his controversial war on drugs, nearly a month after suspending the entire force from all operations in the bloody campaign.

In an about-face on his decision to remove the 160,000-member Philippine National Police (PNP) from his signature campaign, Duterte said the country was beset by security and law enforcement challenges and he needed more manpower to sustain the crackdown on drugs.

Duterte has been scathing in his criticism of police corruption after it was discovered that rogue drugs squad officers had kidnapped and killed a South Korean businessman at PNP headquarters.

After banishing police from the anti-drug campaign, Duterte handed the lead role to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and has called for the military to provide firepower for its operations.

On Tuesday, he said those police recalled to operations would have to be supervised by PDEA agents.

"So, I need more men. I have to call back the police again to do the job most of the time on drugs, not everyone," he told reporters.

"And it's meant to be PDEA-supervised, whether done by the military or the police. There should always be a PDEA ... who will be supervising everything."

Since the Jan. 30 police suspension, the drug trade has come back out of the shadows, more than half a dozen drug users and dealers in some of Manila's toughest areas told Reuters.

PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa said on Monday drugs had returned to the streets in the past few weeks and police were ready to rejoin the campaign because "the sooner we return, the better".

The war on drugs has caused international alarm, with 7,700 people killed since it was launched eight months ago, some 2,555 in operations in which police said suspects resisted arrest.

Authorities strongly reject allegations by human rights groups that many of the other deaths were extrajudicial killings carried out by police, or hit men working for them.

Duterte has resolutely defended the campaign and lambasted anyone who raises concern about it, including world leaders like then U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and former U.S. President Barack Obama.

He has promised to humiliate anyone who is willing to debate him on the issue.

He said the decision to recall police was made after consultations with dela Rosa, during which he ordered him to recruit young men for task forces who were "imbued with the fervor of patriotism" and not tainted by corruption.

He did not specify what task forces.

"I have to do it because I don't have enough men," Duterte added.

PNP spokesman Dionardo Carlos said he was not aware of any recall of the police.

"We have to await proper instructions and guidelines," he said. "The whole situation will be studied because we need to know where are we on the drug situation and where we left off."</s>Rodrigo Duterte has decided to bring some police officers back into the fold for his anti-drug campaign in the Philippines.

The fresh move came after the president suspended the Philippine National Police's (PNP) involvement in the crackdown on narcotics a month ago following the kidnap and murder of a South Korean businessman. During that time, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) headed operations – and they will supervise new police task forces.

"It's going to be PDEA-supervised, whether done by the military or the police," said Duterte.

However, the president said he had little choice other than to recall the police to combat illegal substances following "a gain, a rise of drug activities by 20%".

It is as yet unclear when police will return to the anti-drugs campaign, but the president said he was left with no other alternative due to a shortage of manpower.

National police chief Ronald dela Rosa insisted that only select officials would be chosen in the war against drugs. "We have to make sure all drug enforcement units are already clean. The vetting process will be stricter so that [undesirables] will not be able to get in," he said.

"All of those involved will have to be selected very carefully. There are many who are capable and are just waiting to be tapped. They should just wait," he added.

According to the police chief, drug dealers became emboldened following the PNP's suspension from the crackdown on drugs. "The longer we are not in the war on drugs, the more the problem is coming back. The situation is getting worse," dela Rosa said.

"It's like the gains of the last seven months in our war on drugs are going to waste. So, the sooner [the PNP gets back], the better."

Duterte's war on drugs has cost more than 8,000 lives so far, according to Reuters.

Speaking on Wednesday (1 March), dela Rosa said he could not guarantee a less violent drug war when police return to the campaign. "If they [drug dealers] resist and if they want it to be bloody then we will give it to them," he said.</s>- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, on February 28, said he would deploy some police to rejoin his drug fight, following his suspension of the entire force from all relevant operations, which was issued nearly a month ago.Duterte said the country was threatened by security and law enforcement challenges and he needed more manpower to sustain the crackdown on drugs.He noted that police recalled the campaign would have to be supervised by agents from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).On February 27, Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa said drug had reappeared on streets in the past few weeks and police were ready to rejoin operations.In January, after barring police from the anti-drug campaign, Duterte handed the lead role to the PDEA and requested the military to provide firepower for its operations.-VNA</s>A Foreign Businessman's Murder Pauses Philippine Drug War, But For How Long?

A month ago, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hit the pause button on his controversial war on drugs. That war has left more than 7,500 people dead since Duterte took office last June, promising a "dirty" and "bloody" fight against drugs.

"Do your duty, and if in the process, you kill 1,000 persons, I will protect you," Duterte, nicknamed "The Punisher," told police days after his election.

And he did — standing by them fiercely in the months that followed, despite allegations of of extrajudicial killings that prompted international outrage.

But then came the case of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo, kidnapped and murdered in October by members of a police anti-drug unit. They'd seized him at his home outside Manila in an alleged anti-drug operation. He was strangled to death at police headquarters in Manila.

Some reports say Jee's wife paid a ransom to win his release, not knowing he was already dead.

When Duterte learned of Jee's murder in January, he wasn't pleased. He immediately ordered the Philippine National Police to stand down from its leading role in his anti-drug campaign. The force, he said, was filled with "scallywags" and was "rotten to the core."

Edcel Lagman, a Philippine congressman and one of the few Duterte critics in the House of Representatives, says he doesn't think the police "is entirely corrupt to the core. But the corruption in the police agency is substantial."

He wonders why it took a foreigner's death to make Duterte act.

"More than a single foreigner, 7,000 Filipinos had already been sacrificed in extrajudicial killings in this deadly campaign against the drug menace," he says.

Last month, Duterte vowed to "cleanse" the national police for before allowing it to return to the war on drugs, and tasked the much smaller Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to take the lead in his anti-drug campaign.

The mercurial, short-fused president also made his anger known in a live television address on Feb. 7 at Malacanang Palace, where he unleashed a foul-mouthed tirade at several hundred cops standing sheepishly before him. He ordered them transferred to the island of Basilan in the violence-plagued south of the country, the home turf of the al-Qaida linked terrorist group Abu Sayyaf — the same group that beheaded a German hostage earlier this week.

"I will send you to Basilan, live there for two years. If you get out alive, you can return here," Duterte fumed. "If you die there, I will tell the police not to spend anything to bring you back here but to bury you there." Those who did not wish to go, he said, could quit.

Several dozen cops failed to show up for their trip south. Others, local reports say, had their deployment delayed to appear in court to answer charges against them. Duterte has indirectly threatened those who failed to show.

But on Monday, a month after pulling the plug on the national police, the Philippine online news site Rappler reported that Duterte would soon allow limited participation of the police in his controversial anti-drug campaign — under the supervision of the PDEA.

"I lack personnel," he said. "I have ordered [national police chief Ronald dela Rosa] to recruit young men in the [national police] imbued with the fervor of patriotism to be the members only of the task forces, but only a select few, those without cases and without a history of corruption."

When this will happen — and how many will be involved — is unclear.

"We hope and pray that the authorities will clean up their act," says Chito Gascon, who heads the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. "But I won't hold my breath after what I've seen the last seven months."

Of the 7,500 alleged drug related killings in the last seven months, Gascon says, more than 2,000 suspects have been killed in encounters with police. Police claim the suspects fired first. But there's a problem with that argument, Gascon says.

"The self-defense argument must be brought to the court," he says. "And of the 2,000 cases, not one single police officer has been brought to court. That's the problem. So it's not enough they do something about the case of the Korean national. It's just as important we begin the process of holding police officers to account."

Gascon says he hopes Duterte was sincere when he said that's what he wanted to do with the police after the murder of the South Korean businessman. But he has his doubts.

"Perhaps the pace will be slowed down, put the brakes on a little bit because people have crossed lines or violated rules or been found out," he says. "But in due course, I think eventually the killings will continue."

In the Arellano slum in Manila, a place where NPR has returned frequently since the war on drugs began, residents think so, too.

Cindy Medrano, who helps run her family's food stall in the neighborhood, says she supports the war on drugs and there's been far less crime in the neighborhood since it began. But she's not a fan of the extrajudicial killings and complains it's the poor who bear the brunt of the war on drugs — not the drug kingpins or corrupt cops deeply involved in the drug trade. She's confident the killings will resume again soon.

"I think this is just temporary," she says. Because President Duterte, she says, is the kind of person who finishes what he starts, even if due process is ignored.

Lilibeth Diego, a former methamphetamine addict who surrendered to police back in September out of fear that she'd be killed if she didn't, agrees. Since the war on drugs was suspended, some say dealers have moved back to their corners to do business. But not in Arellano, she says.

"Even if I want to use again here, you can't buy anymore, nobody's selling," Diego says.

And the cops are still around, she says, in plainclothes, wearing black shirts and shorts. Just watching, she says. And waiting.</s>Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to kill 'ninja-criminal policemen' who are still involved in the illegal drug trading after facing disciplinary action.

The threat came as it emerged some 250 corrupt officers failed to turn up to a re-deployment flight.

Last week only 17 per cent of those due to take a flight to Basilan, southern Philippines, showed up at Pasay City's Villamor Airbase for their flight, reported Gulf News.

President Duterte said: 'They should be subjected to summary dismissal. I have requested the police to form particularly a squad that will watch over the dismissed policemen.

'Most of them — the ninja-criminal policemen — are high on the [target] list.'

He added that he would not spare any rogue officer stating: 'You will be killed, if you make a mistake, you will be killed. That's for sure.'

Last month Duterte withdrew the police force from his drug war and denounced the force as 'corrupt to the core'.

However, he announced today that he would recall officers to fight against the illegal trade.

'I need more men and I have to call back the police again,' Duterte told reporters, adding he had instructed his police chief to find young officers who were not corrupt to join anti-drug groups.

'At yesterday's command conference I ordered (him) to recruit young men in the Philippine National Police who are imbued with the fervour of patriotism,' he said.

Duterte won presidential elections last year after promising to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.

Since then, police have reported killing more than 2,550 people, while more than 4,000 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.

Duterte had been unrepentant in the face of widespread international criticism of the drug war, including accusations the police were murdering people for their own gain and organising anonymous vigilante death squads.</s>Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte poses with soldiers during a visit at Camp Capinpin in Rizal province on August 24, 2016.

Manila: The Philippine National Police is forming a new anti-drug law enforcement unit after its campaign against drugs was interrupted by concerns over rogue policemen abusing their authority.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Ronald dela Rosa revealed the plans on Tuesday, during the 23rd anniversary of the National Police College.

“Just be ready. We are set to go and will inform you if we are going to continue from where we left off in our war against drugs,” dela Rosa told officers.

Late in January, President Rodrigo Duterte stopped the police anti-drugs campaign, amid reports that certain rogue police officers of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) had been taking advantage of the government drive by extorting money from suspects.

Duterte to rogue cops: You will be killed

In one of the worst cases reported, a South Korean national, businessman Jee Ick Joo, was abducted and killed despite his wife paying millions of pesos as ransom.

The Jee abduction led to the disbandment of the AIDG and the burden of enforcing the anti-drug campaign fell of the smaller organisation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) which was assisted by a 500-member strong military unit.

More than a month after anti-drug operations were relieved from the PNP units, it became apparent that the units called to carry out the drive were stretched thin.

In an interview aired by the GMA television station, PDEA chief Isidro Lapeña said the unit was having difficulty in sustaining the anti-drugs drive because of lack of manpower.

PDEA only has 2,271 personnel nationwide, of which more than 1,200 are drug enforcement officers, the report said.

Lapena added that a recent directive by the president to carry out the anti-drug drive down to the level of the villages to reduce supply added to PDEA’s difficulties.

While Dela Rosa confirmed that the PNP would be resuming its role in the campaign versus drug, he did not disclose when this would actually happen.

“I cannot reveal when because the element of surprise would be lost,” he said.

Earlier, armed forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Ańo stated that they are in the process of creating a special task force with the help of the PDEA.</s>Police Superintendent Raphael Dumlao III during the Senate Hearing on the murder of Korean National Jee Ick Jo

Police Superintendent Raphael Dumlao III during the Senate Hearing on the murder of Korean National Jee Ick Jo Image Credit: Agency

Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to kill policemen who return to the illegal drug trade after facing disciplinary action.

The threat came as it emerged hundreds of allegedly rogue police officers had defied their re-deployment to the restive southern Philippines.

Last week, only 53 out of 310 policemen — 17 per cent — had showed up at Pasay City’s Villamor Airbase for their flight to Basilan, southern Philippines.

“They should be subjected to summary dismissal. I have requested the police to form particularly a squad that will watch over the dismissed policemen,” Duterte said.

“Most of them — the ninja-criminal policemen — are high on the [target] list,” he added.

He warned that he would not spare any renegade officer.

“You will be killed, if you make a mistake, you will be killed. That’s for sure,” Duterte said. “Your wives will be widowed. Don’t fool the government. Do not even try. Do not even think about it.”

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa said he had signed the dismissal order for hundreds of policemen.

“They were given 15 days to explain at the PNP in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM),” Dela Rosa said, adding that they will be finally dismissed if they fail to give reasonable explanation.

There were no cases filed against them, but their participation in many illegal activities are fully documented, Dela Rosa explained.

The president has been dubbed a strongman in his relentless campaign against illegal drug trade, especially those involving law-enforcement agents, that has killed 7,700 since July.

“Just because you are no longer working in government, you think you will have more freedom to engage in illegal drug trade. That will make you special target,” Duterte ranted in addressing the erring policemen.

'They will be killed, one by one'

“Do not be surprised if they are killed because they are wanted and so are the police(men) who are dismissed for committing crimes. I’m warning the public especially the media right now, do not be surprised if they are killed one of these days — one by one,” said Duterte, known for not holding back in moments of anger.

Duterte temporarily ordered the scrapping of the PNP’s anti-drug operation after policemen assigned to fight the illegal drug trade were found behind the kidnap-for-ransom of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo from his home in Pampanga, central Luzon last year.

Jee was killed inside the PNP headquarters Camp Crame in suburban Quezon City and was cremated the next day under suspicious circumstances.

Details of the cops-turned-criminals saga were revealed by low-ranking police officers-turned-witnesses implicating high-ranking police generals in the Jee kidnapping.

Jee's wife, South Korean Choi Kyung-jin, was asked to pay ransom — revealed through ATM transactions and CCTV footage — believing her husband was still alive.

October 18, 2016: South Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo, along with his house helper, was kidnapped by two unidentified men from Jee's residence in Friendship Plaza Subdivision, Angeles, Pampanga, an hour north of Manila.

After their arrest, the kidnappers — who turned out to be members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) — accused Jee of being involved in the illegal drug trade.

October 18, 2016: Jee was killed inside Camp Crame, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police, by his abductors.

October 30, 2016: Kidnappers ask for ransom from Jee's wife, Choi Kyung Jin. She reportedly paid Php5 million (Dh364,772 or about $100,000) on October 30, 2016 out of the Php8 million demanded by the kidnappers. She said she did not give the kidnappers the remaining Php3 million when they failed to present proof that Jee was still alive.

February 3, 2017: PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa said unscrupulous members of the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) could be behind the Jee's killing Dela Rosa told the reporters at Camp Crame that "the picture is getting clearer and hopefully, the truth will soon come out".

February 3: President Duterte, citing investigation reports, tagged a police general, Rafael Dumlao III, the immediate superior of prime suspect Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of Jee.

Duterte gave Dumlao 24 hours to surrender or a P5-million reward would be offered for his capture, dead or alive.

Duterte publicly cursed Dumlao who snubbed the first day of the investigation by the Department of Justice on the kidnap-slay case.

February 22: The Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) adds 4 criminal charges (carnapping, robbery, falsification of public document, obstruction of justic) on 8 respondents in Jee kidnap-slay case.

Case respondents (accused): 

(1) Senior Police Officer 3 (SPO3) Ricky Sta. Isabel, tagged as the prime suspect;

(2) former PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group-Pampanga (AIDG) head Superintendent Rafael Dumlao III;

(3) SPO4 Roy Villegas;

(4) Gerardo Santiago, owner of the Gream funeral parlor;

(5) Jerry Omlang;

(6) Ramon Yalung;

(7) Ricardo Diaz, former Director of NBI-National Capital Region 3;

(8) Jose Yap, former NBI deputy director for investigation services

(9) Roel Bolivar, former NBI Task Force against Illegal Drugs head

(10-14) Five employees of Gream Funeral Services: Epephany Gotera; Teodolito Macato Tarepe; Kevin Enriquez; Robert John Tobias and Bernardo Maraya

(15+) There were other suspects tagged in the case, identified only through aliases “Pulis,” and several "John Does".
After a temporary suspension due to the kidnapping and killing of a South Korean national, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte orders the Philippine National Police to resume his controversial campaign.