Athena Faye C.

Baran
9- Kepler

ILLEGAL DRUGS

Manila,Philippines-President Rodrigo Duterte used his 4th state of the nation address (SONA) on
Monday, July 22, to tell congress what laws he wants passed and what Filipinos can expect in the last
half of his term.“The fight will be unrelenting….The fight will not stop until those who deal with it [drugs]
understand that they have to stop because the alternative is either jail or hell,” Duterte said in his
second State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa.Duterte said he would not allow
those involved in illegal drugs to “have the luxury of enjoying the benefits of their greed and madness.”
Solving the drug problem was among Duterte’s key promises during the 2016 elections. He campaigned
on a platform of ending criminality in the country, including the illegal drug trade, in 6 months, but he
had since extended this self-imposed deadline to the end of his term in 2022.Upon assuming the
presidency on June 30, 2016, Duterte implemented his campaign against illegal drugs nationwide, led by
the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Drug crackdown- The persistent problem of illegal drugs is Duterte’s first topic. He claims the 2017
marawi siege began with a government raid on shabu being kept by extremists there. Duterte implied
that it was the influence of drugs and money from its illegal trade that sparked and fueled the marawi
siege. “Drug money killed 175 and wounded [2,101] of my soldiers and policemen in that 5-month
battle,”Duterte said.