Drug war not vs poor – Palace

The government’s war on illegal drugs is not targeting the poor, Malacañang said yesterday, as it asserted President Duterte’s resolve to get rid of drug pushers regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella made the argument to dispute the remarks of a Human Rights Watch official criticizing Duterte’s anti-drug campaign was “a war on the poor.”

“The war on drugs is not targeted at any particular segment of society,” Abella said. “As the President said, he has to clean up the streets of drug users, pushers, and dealers, regardless of their socioeconomic status in life,” he said. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)