Violence and scare tactics failed in Philippines drug war, enforcement chief Romeo Caramat says

Caramat said that ultra-violent approach to curbing illicit drugs had not been effective and users could still buy narcotics ‘any time, anywhere’ in the country

Some 5,532 people have been killed in anti-drug operations nationwide since mid-2016, but rights groups suspect the death toll is much higher

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Colonel Romeo Caramat, chief of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00pm, 7 Feb 2020Updated: 3:55am, 8 Feb 2020

Colonel Romeo Caramat oversaw the bloodiest day in the blood-soaked war on drugs in the Philippines – 32 people killed in 24 hours in the province north of Manila where he was police chief in 2017.

Now the head of drug enforcement for the Philippine National Police, Caramat said that ultra-violent approach to curbing illicit drugs had not been effective.

“Shock and awe definitely did not work,” he said in an interview, speaking out for the first time on the issue. “Drug supply is still rampant.”

Caramat said the volume of crime had decreased as a result of the drug war, but users could still buy illegal drugs “any time, anywhere” in the Philippines.

He said he now favoured a new strategy. Rather than quickly arresting or killing low-level pushers and couriers, he wants to put them under surveillance in the hope they lead police to “big drug bosses”.

Some 3.5 years after President Rodrigo Duterte launched a war on drugs with a call to kill addicts and traffickers, his signature policy has failed in many key objectives, according to police officers, health professionals and government officials.

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