Philippine president Duterte's drug war an 'utter failure', says vice-president

Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo says President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war is failing because it was not targeting big-time drug suppliers. - Reuters

MANILA (The Straits Times/ANN): President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal drug war is an utter failure three years on, despite a state-sanctioned terror campaign that has led to thousands of extrajudicial killings, Vice-President Leni Robredo said on Monday (Jan 6).

"It's crystal clear... that despite the thousands who were killed, and despite the huge sum and resources spent, not even 1% of the total supply of shabu and the money generated from illegal drugs were seized," Robredo, who briefly took over Duterte's crackdown on the drug trade, said in a news briefing.