President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (L) and former President Rodrigo Duterte. | PHOTOS: Official Facebook pages of Bongbong Marcos and Rody Duterte
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte — A peaceful and orderly situation in the Philippines can be achieved through effective lawmaking and not by killing thousands of Filipinos, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday.
In his speech at the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign rally at Tacloban’s Plaza Libertad, Marcos reiterated that it was wrong to use a bloody and violent campaign to eradicate crimes, particularly the illegal drug trade.
“In our fight against crime and drugs, we did not have to go through a bloody solution. None of us believe that the solution to crime and drugs is to kill thousands of our fellow Filipinos. That is not correct,” he said in Filipino.
“The only way to ensure peace and order is through proper lawmaking and effective support to the police and our local governments,” he added.
Marcos also pointed out that the country does not need to resort to illegal activities like Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), which are believed to have brought problems into the country in terms of a higher crime index and money laundering.
“When it comes to our economy and work, we do not need to rely on illegal activities like Pogos. We left that business because it only became breeding zones of crime and violence, which became a problem for the entire country. That’s why we left that industry,” he said in Filipino.
“The correct solution is by providing real jobs, real sources of livelihood, and support for those in need. Let us unite. What we need here in the Philippines is to refrain from fighting others. What we need is to have Filipinos who love their fellow Filipinos,” he added.
This was not the first time that Marcos differentiated the Alyansa slate from other lineups seeking Senate seats in the 2025 midterm elections.
As early as the first campaign sortie in Ilocos Norte, Marcos already said that the Alyansa’s 12-person slate neither supported the bloody campaign against illegal drugs nor backed China’s intrusion into the Philippines’ maritime territories.
This, however, was the first time that Marcos commented on the two issues raised against the Duterte administration since former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested.
Last Tuesday, after coming home from Hong Kong, Duterte was stopped from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 as local authorities assisted the International Criminal Police Organization in enforcing an arrest order from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The ICC arrest order was issued due to the crimes against humanity raps filed against Duterte for his role in the drug war.
After questioning the arrest, Duterte eventually conceded and boarded a chartered plane from Villamor Air Base, which left Manila for The Netherlands on Tuesday night.
The chartered plane landed in The Hague minutes after Thursday midnight (Manila time).
While in Hong Kong, Duterte addressed talks about the arrest order, saying that his actions during the war on illegal drugs were for the Philippines’ benefit.
However, several official and independent investigations into the drug war have shown that there were many instances where innocent individuals were dragged into the anti-drug operations.
In August 2017, 17-year-old Kian delos Santos was summarily executed in Caloocan City even if he was not the original target of the operation. The three police officers involved in the killing of delos Santos were convicted of murder.
