President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s latest directive to the Philippine National Police (PNP), issued on June 2, 2025, is not just a policy shift—it’s a spineless surrender to the brutal, fear-driven tactics of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war. By ordering new PNP chief General Nicolas Torre III to hunt down “small-time” drug peddlers, Marcos has trashed his administration’s hollow promises of reform and exposed his “New Philippines” as a sham. This isn’t leadership; it’s a desperate bid to salvage his crumbling political capital at the expense of human lives.

Marcos’ pivot comes on the heels of a midterm election drubbing, where Duterte’s allies—Bong Go, Ronald Dela Rosa, and Rodante Marcoleta—swept the Senate race, while Marcos’ slate floundered. With his popularity ratings tanking and Duterte reclaiming Davao City’s mayoral seat, Marcos’ May 19 podcast revealed his true colors: “I want to be respected, but maybe fear is better.” This chilling admission betrays a leader willing to sacrifice principle for power, embracing the same fearmongering that fueled Duterte’s reign of terror. His call to “go back to the grassroots” and target small-time dealers is a cynical ploy to appease a public whipped into a frenzy by sensationalized crime narratives, amplified by complicit media.

This move is a grotesque betrayal of the Marcos government’s earlier posturing to the international community and civil society. Through the $4 million United Nations Joint Programme on Human Rights (UNJP), Marcos’ administration paid lip service to a harm reduction approach, which framed drug use as a health and social issue requiring nuanced solutions, not just handcuffs. Civil society, including the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights, explicitly recommended decriminalizing low-level drug offenses, like personal use or small-scale dealing. As recently as March 2025, government representatives joined a consensus to “explore decriminalization” for small-time users. Yet, Marcos has thrown this under the bus, opting for a Duterte-style crackdown that’s as shortsighted as it is cruel. Human rights lawyer Raymond Marvic C. Baguilat called the shift “expected” given the systemic rot, but his cautious hope for change feels like whistling in the wind.

Why target small-time peddlers while the real culprits—drug lords who manufacture and smuggle narcotics—continue to operate with impunity? These kingpins, often shielded by their wealth and connections, are the arteries of the drug trade. Cutting them off would cripple the system, yet Marcos’ orders conveniently sidestep them. The hypocrisy deepens when you consider the gambling lords, like the alleged campaign financier Kim Yung, who run unchecked in Ilocos, Pampanga, Calabarzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Whispers of law enforcement officials on their payroll are deafening, yet Marcos remains silent. Why? Because these cartels reportedly bankrolled his 2022 campaign, exposing the “New Philippines” as a grotesque farce—a “pakulo lang” that mocks the Filipino people’s trust.

The human toll of this betrayal is staggering. The Dahas Project reports 983 drug-related killings under Marcos as of May 23, 2025—a grim tally that echoes Duterte’s Oplan TokHang, a campaign of extrajudicial killings and police overreach still under Supreme Court scrutiny. Marcos and Torre’s assurances of a “rights-respecting” campaign ring hollow when the playbook they’re reviving led to thousands of deaths and an ongoing International Criminal Court case against Duterte. Baguilat notes that Marcos’ team has acknowledged past human rights violations, but their willingness to act is dubious at best. Dialogue with civil society continues, but it’s hard to take seriously when the president’s actions scream regression.

Marcos’ focus on small-time dealers is not just ineffective—it’s complicity in a broken system. By ignoring the drug lords and gambling tycoons who pull the strings, he’s scapegoating the vulnerable while protecting the powerful. This isn’t governance; it’s political theater, staged to distract from his failures. The Filipino people deserve better: a leader who dismantles the drug trade’s roots, not one who trims its leaves for headlines. Marcos must end this charade, target the real criminals, and commit to evidence-based policies like rehabilitation and decriminalization. Anything less is a bloodstained capitulation to Duterte’s legacy—and a middle finger to justice.

( TAMBULI NG BAYAN-Ronnie Estrada) #marcosdrugwar #NicolasTorre #PNPCHIEF #PBBM