Dealing with drug menace

Just how bad is the Philippines’ drug problem? So bad that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines was compelled to include it in a series of pastoral state-

ments issued last Monday after a 3-day plenary assembly.

The bishops cited the evils of drug trafficking brought into sharper focus by the plight of Mary Jane Veloso, the single mother of two who was sentenced to death for drug smuggling in Indonesia but spared at the last minute, pending investigation of her recruiters.

“[W]hile the Catholic Church is against the death penalty, it calls for resoluteness from the police and law enforcement agencies” to dismantle drug syndicates and cartels and to ensure that seized drugs would not be recycled and sold in the underground market, the bishops said. The call couldn’t have come at a more crucial time. Just yesterday, seven persons were killed and scores were injured in a drug raid in Davao City. Indeed, the drug menace has all but shrouded the country’s future, ruining the lives of individuals and families.

A report by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) shows a huge increase in the number of Filipinos recruited as couriers by international drug syndicates: from only two recorded arrests in 1993 to 710 in 2014. Of the 710 drug mules arrested, 445 (or 63 percent) are females, targeted because women generally elicit less suspicion from authorities. They are also more susceptible to the syndicates’ promise of love or marriage, or are easily lured by the prospect of easy money, the chance to travel abroad, the assurance that the risks are minimal, or are simply too shy to refuse requests from friends or acquaintances. The Veloso case is instructive.

Aside from exposing Filipinos to possible prison terms or even execution overseas, the drug menace has driven addicts to crimes ranging from petty theft to prostitution and homicide as they desperately seek ways to get their fix.

Another worrying development is the entry into the Philippines of the powerful Mexican Sinaloa drug syndicate, which apparently sees a strong market for the contraband in this part of the world. The sinister link to transnational crime groups has also increased professionalism in the production and marketing of dangerous drugs, police said.

The lack of jobs for the Philippines’ young population and the resulting enforced idleness and boredom, as well as the lack of means to pursue worthwhile recreation, have also led the adventurous youth to experiment with drugs and tread what could be an irreversible road to perdition. What a waste of a productive resource that the country sorely needs!

Just as devastating is the corrosion that the lucrative drug trade has wrought on the country’s justice system, with law-enforcement officials themselves becoming complicit with drug lords behind bars. The surprise raids conducted by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last December revealed how these criminals were actually living on the lap of luxury at the national penitentiary, validating reports that they control the local narcotics industry and continue to ply their nefarious trade from their cells.

How to cope with a crisis that even the richest countries on the planet struggle to contain? The government, criticized for an unspent portion of its budget, can very well use these resources to provide jobless youth with positive diversions through sports facilities where they can expend excess energy in more productive pursuits. More tech-voc classes for out-of-school youth won’t hurt as well, as these could lead them to much-needed jobs.

The same unused funds can also go to better rehab and treatment centers, with families included in psychosocial activities to sustain the drug dependents’ road to recovery.

An active and strong cooperation with foreign counterparts, the strengthening of bilateral and regional coordination, as well as partnership with international police forces can go a long way in developing a comprehensive database on drug syndicates, and the monitoring of their activities.

Aside from intensifying its information campaign, the PDEA has also called on the public to report drug pushers and users through its hotlines, e-mail and Facebook accounts, with the guarantee of anonymity to tipsters for their protection.

Lastly, and more obviously, authorities would do well to screen their ranks and conduct regular lifestyle checks to rid themselves of scalawags. A thoroughgoing inquiry into the recent fire at the PDEA annex office in Quezon City where drug evidence is kept can be a good start.