There was no policy of rewarding officers for killing drug suspects under the Marcos administration, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said.
In a forum, DDB Usec. Earl Saavedra, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said Operation “Private Eye” and Operation “Lawmen” were the only legitimate reward processes regulated by the board and executed by the PDEA.
Based on DDB releases, Operation “Private Eye” incentivizes any person who provides information to any law enforcer resulting in the successful confiscation or seizure of dangerous drugs and arrest of individuals involved in illegal drugs.
Operation “Lawmen” recognizes law enforcers, members of anti-illegal drug teams, and support units.
“But we don’t tolerate giving rewards to policemen who kill,” Saavedra said during the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the implementing arm of the DDB, also said no “reward system” for killing drug suspects existed, ABS-CBN News reported.
PDEA spokesperson Lawin Gabales noted that the legitimate reward system for private individuals also undergoes a vetting process and involves other organizations from academe, from the religious sector, and from the business (sector).
The “reward system” made headlines after retired police colonel Royina Garma claimed in a House inquiry that former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war allegedly rewarded police officers for the deaths of suspects, replicating the “Davao model.”
Duterte said there was a cash reward scheme for officers during his war on drugs, but it did not mean that police were incentivized to kill alleged drug personalities.
Saavedra noted there were fewer drug users in the country a year after the Marcos administration took over.
Citing DDB’s National Household Survey on the Patterns and Trends of Drug Use in the Philippines, the DDB official said the number of drug users declined to 1.47 million in 2023 from 1.67 million in 2019.
