Two days from now, newly elected local officials and President Rodrigo Duterte will be sworn into office and will begin working for their constituents for the next three to six years.
A lot of expectations are riding on Mr. Duterte though this early we can already see some changes in the fight against illegal drugs. Most of the police operations either end in death or surrender of the suspected drug dealers.
In Cebu City, Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña is making good on his declaration of war against drug dealers by warning them to get out of the city and do their business elsewhere lest they suffer the consequences.
Residents welcome this renewed vigor in the anti-drug campaign due to the impunity by which the illegal drug trade had proliferated in the city.
The death of Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, the suspected top drug dealer from Barangay Duljo Fatima, is a clear warning to those in the drug trade to either give up or meet their doom.
Contributing to this intensified campaign against the drug menace is the cash bounty system instituted by Osmeña in Cebu City and Duterte on the national scale that emboldens the police to go all-out in pursuing these criminal elements.
But there’s a caveat to this practice and that is, it is prone to abuse. When a suspect is killed, he or she can no longer defend himself or herself and tragedy ensues when he or she is later proven innocent.
It is important that in our fight against crime we observe the rule of law because no one should be above the law.
Let me reiterate the importance of the principle of due process of law that consists of both substantive due process and procedural due process.
In substantive due process, law enforcement agencies and the courts should ensure that enforcing the law should be fair, just and reasonable. Procedural due process requires that certain procedures must be observed in upholding the law.
But there are some quarters who say that the deaths of these suspected drug dealers aren’t the handiwork of Duterte because he has not yet started as president.
Rather it is the work of the police or those in the police ranks who have something to hide and feel they have to do something to stop the nefarious activities of the illegal drug dealers lest accusing fingers point at them and their days are numbered.
Right now the illegal drug dealers are running scared while families who lost their loved ones to drugs have welcomed this, seeing that the police are doing their jobs right and justice is finally being served.
Let me congratulate our law enforcement personnel for finally doing their jobs. The magnitude of the illegal drug menace requires drastic measures to reduce, if not eliminate it.
I hope that in going after drug dealers, the police, military and other agencies observe due process. I know there are some who don’t understand nor have the patience to observe due process because they are sick and tired of the impunity by which these drug dealers engage in their trade.
Those who lost faith in the country’s justice system would argue, as Duterte does, why due process would be given to them when they flaunt and abuse it to their advantage.
But I believe that one cannot solve a problem by creating another problem. I am confident that our communities and organizations will remain vigilant in guarding against the abuses of the police and law enforcement agencies. And I would just finally pray that God bless us Filipinos and our country.
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