SINGAPORE – Nagkasundo ang Pilipinas at Singapore na hindi dapat nagtatakda ng mga kompromiso sa paglaban kontra ilegal na droga, ayon kay Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, Jr.
Sa press briefing sa Orchard Hotel dito, sinabi ni Yasay na kabilang ang usapin sa droga sa mga tinalakay ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa bilateral meetings nito kina Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam at Prime Minister Lee Hsien sa dalawang-araw na state visit ng Punong Ehekutibo sa Lion City.
“The general consensus was both agreed that the methods that we have adopted, being tough in the fight against illegal drugs, and that this toughness and the measures that will be taken must be taken in the context of the urgent priorities and needs on the ground, as is relevant to our own situation,” sabi ni Yasay.
Sumang-ayon ang mga opisyal ng Pilipinas at Singapore na walang awa ang mga nasa likod ng kalakalan ng droga at handang sagasaan ang kahit sinong humahadlang sa kanilang negosyo.
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“So there was a consensus that this is the kind of method that you should adopt. There can be no compromise on this, that toughness must be there and in fact,” dagdag ni Yasay.
Sinabi ni Yasay na binanggit ni Duterte sa mga Singaporean official na nagkaroon ng positibong epekto ang kampanya ng gobyerno kontra droga; nabawasan na umano ang mga sindikato ng droga, nagsisisuko ang maraming adik at sumasailalim na sa drug rehabilitation ang ilan sa mga ito.
“Now, there was also a mention on the part of the Singaporean leaders that they will continue to be tough and that this is the reason why they also have continued to make sure that anyone caught in the illicit drug trade with a minimum of certain amount of drugs will be subject to the death penalty,” ani Yasay.
“We are considering this kind of action on the part of illegal drugs. That’s why there are talks in the Philippines right now of restoring the death penalty on these kinds of criminal activity and other kinds of activities as well.
“They will also be sharing information and also assistance insofar as technical aspect of law enforcement along this line is concerned,” ani Yasay. “There are already agreements insofar as pursuing a sharing of intelligence information with respect to who are the criminals involved.”
Kumpiyansa naman si Duterte na higit pang magiging matatag ang ugnayan ng dalawang bansa dahil sa state visit, kasunod na rin ng kapwa pagbibigay-diin sa pagpapanatili sa ASEAN region na “safe and secure from traditional, emerging transnational threats.”
Pasisiglahin din ang kalakalan at komersiyo sa dalawang bansa, at sinabi pa ni President Tan na interesado ang mga kumpanya sa Singapore na mamuhunan sa Pilipinas bilang isa sa pinakamabibilis umunlad na ekonomiya sa Asia.
