Senior Supt. Benjamin Silo, Jr. asked drug dependents to toe the line of 1,792 persons who surrendered voluntarily and the 80 others arrested from July 1 to 20, 2016.
Those who surrendered came from 209 drug-affected villages out of the 237 barangay in Bataan.
“Never kami initiate na unang magpaputok. Those killed decided to shoot it out with police in legitimate operations,” he said, adding that recovered from the 13 fatalities were 13 firearms of different calibers.
He said that police officers have good training, better equipped and with plans so they have better chances of killing those trying to outshoot them.
Silo said that police operatives like other persons have the right to defend themselves. “Kaya nagpaputok ang mga pulis dahil sila unang pinaputukan. Tingnan ninyo wala namang nangyari sa 80 naaresto, nakarating sila sa piskalya dahil hindi sila nanlaban,” Silo said.
Silo, a lawyer, said he does not want anybody dead. “Dapat walang mamatay na drug-dependents at magkaroon sila ng due process. Gusto ko makulong lang sila kaya dapat huwag silang manlaban,” he said.
The 1,752 persons who voluntarily surrendered, Silo said, will be accepted in batches to the two Pag-asa Reformation Centers found at Camp Tolentino in Balanga City and Lamao, Limay town.
He said they are looking for the building of other reformation centers to cope with the increasing number of those desiring to be reformed.
Run by police with the assistance of concerned agencies, the centers will house drug-dependents for a month where they will be taught skills by TESDA. The reformists will be assessed if they are no more addicted to illegal drugs, Silo said.
