It has been more than a year since he left office, yet former president Benigno Aquino III’s criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against illegal drugs as having changed “nothing” may be questioned and even debated on by those with no love for the present administration.
“Nung kami, 1.8 million at sa isang taon nitong all-out na kampanya laban sa drugs, 1.8 million pa rin ang sinasabi ng survey, at survey na nila yan (During our term, it’s 1.8 million users and one year into the all-out war against drugs it’s still 1.8 million based on their survey),” the former president said.
Aquino, like everyone else, had known President Duterte won’t take criticism of his administration’s anti-drug war after having lambasted the US, the European Union and rights groups whom he called “liberal bleeding hearts,” and his choice of target would ensure that his remarks would carry both weight and maximum exposure, as if being a former president doesn’t count for something nowadays.
The former president’s comments may imply “jaded cynicism” as described by Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella, but what tarnishes the administration’s conduct of their anti-drug war are the numerous deaths of drug suspects including high-profile cases. And the death toll will keep on climbing.
But that same “jaded cynicism” spoken of by Abella in reference to Aquino’s criticism is also shared by a large segment of the public who are dissatisfied with the former president’s performance against illegal drugs and who are now vocal in cheering every time a drug suspect falls, especially those deemed “untouchables” like Ozamiz City mayor Reynaldo Parojinog.
Mr. Aquino had largely been preoccupied with dismantling the remnants of the administration of his predecessor, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and had succeeded for some time as evidenced by his toppling of the late chief justice Renato Corona.
Thus, the war against illegal drugs wasn’t his top priority to begin with, hence the dismal performance and the number of drug users pegged at 1.8 million that marked the end of Aquino’s administration.
Sure, there was former justice secretary and now jailed Sen. Leila de Lima’s discovery of the illegal drug trade within the National Penitentiary, but she got more than she bargained for after being charged with benefiting from the drug trade.
If anything, Mr. Aquino’s remarks were a jab at the Duterte administration’s relentless, uncompromising, take-no-prisoners approach in its war against illegal drugs that had proven to be quite popular, insulated even, from the most virulent criticism of the President’s most vocal opponents.
Unpopular though Mr. Aquino’s remarks may be to a large segment of the public, or at least to those who believe in the Duterte administration’s philosophy and conduct of its campaign against drug syndicates, it’s the deaths of drug suspects that will continue to invite attacks and pressure from Filipinos and even the global community to stop the bloodbath.