Pubdate: Wed, 07 Sep 2016
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines)
Copyright: 2016 Philippine Daily Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.inquirer.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1073
Author: Daniel Aloc

UNADDRESSED PITFALLS IN DIGONG'S ALL-OUT ANTIDRUG CAMPAIGN

HOWEVER you put it, the Philippine National Police is among the 
government agencies responsible for the proliferation of illegal 
drugs in the country-either by direct involvement or sheer ineffectiveness.

Strange enough, the law enforcers who gained notoriety for protecting 
drug cartels and syndicates in the past are now earning praises for 
killing drug suspects at will-in the name of a "drug war." Do you 
really want to vindicate and encourage the police to further abuse 
its power while the unjust social system prevails?

Try to understand this at any rate: If the PNP had never been 
involved in drugs, kidnapping, gambling, extortion, prostitution, 
corruption and other illegal acts, perhaps the war on drugs might be 
justified. But if the institution itself is guilty of blood debts and 
countless crimes against the people, applauding the spate of killings 
only promotes the prevalent culture of impunity in the land.

Indeed, it's easy to instigate violence without understanding its 
social implications. It's like campaigning against a deadly virus but 
spreading it in the process.

In the government's campaign against illegal drugs, the poor, whose 
lack of resources and access to basic social services makes them more 
vulnerable to exploitation via the illegal drug trade, are mostly the 
target of summary executions. Meanwhile, the wealthy few enjoy the 
benefit of due process. Far from being the protector of the Filipino 
people, the police imposes order on the masses to protect the 
economic interests of the ruling class.

President Duterte's antidrug crusade is bound to fail if he would not 
be able to enforce the socioeconomic reforms needed to address 
poverty as the root cause of drug problem in the country, and more so 
if he would tolerate the senseless killings.

- -DANIEL ALOC,  ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom