From barangay to police to even some top elected officials, the poison that is illegal drugs remain the Duterte administration’s top agenda, and the arrest of a former mayor now councilor seemed to highlight government’s determination to get rid of that menace.
While police mostly found weapons at the home of Medellin Councilor Ricky Ramirez, there were also drug paraphernalia but no shabu. A former mayor, Ramirez was quoted as saying that he is willing to undergo drug tests “if there is a court order.”
While having him undergo a drug test is debatable, the former mayor has enough problems to deal with for now though he has the means to provide for his own defense in court.
The same cannot be said of low-level drug pushers and couriers who are at the mercy of the police and can be snuffed out any time either through drive by shootings perpetrated by mask-clad vigilantes or during so-called “buy-bust” operations that usually end with some resistance and eventual death either on the spot or at the hospital.
President Rodrigo Duterte could not have been more graphic or emphatic about his determination to end the drug menace by saying that drug dealers could either land in jail or in hell if they don’t stop their illegal drugs trade.
While hardly anyone would question the President’s order for police to kill drug dealers on the predicate that it is done in self-defense or in the pursuit of one’s duty, one must question whether this relentless campaign would be effective in the long run.
President Duterte said his administration’s campaign against illegal drugs would force drug dealers to see the futility of their poisonous trade and decide whether they would give up or continue with the prospect of either landing in jail — which as shown by the continued profitable trade behind bars isn’t that bad and in fact may be more beneficial — or winding up dead which would invite all sorts of questioning and worldwide condemnation of rights groups.
In fact, the President’s reputation prompted US senators to convince the White House not to continue with Mr. Duterte’s state visit, a prospect the President wasn’t too keen on and in fact had loathed publicly owing to his disdain for the Americans.
In issuing his call for all stakeholders to be involved actively in the campaign against illegal drugs, even Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma must realize that rehabilitation by itself won’t be effective without a strong law enforcement campaign.
Enhancing their evidence and case buildup capabilities, ensuring police visibility and instilling a culture of incorruptibility within the ranks are just some of the measures needed to reduce, if not totally eliminate the drug menace.
That and the community’s united stand to simply reject and report all drug activities to law enforcement agencies would go a long way towards achieving drug-free status in the country.