No change even in the war on drugs

My eyes couldn’t help but focus on two news items which, by design or chance, were laid out side by side on page A10 and page A11 of the Inquirer’s Dec. 7 issue.

On page 10, the headline of the story read “Police free Arroyo grandson,” and right next to it on page 11 was the article with the headline “EJKs claim 11 more across Metro.”

Readers can judge for themselves, but these twin articles on related subjects clearly demonstrate that in the war against drugs, there is a wide divide between the favored and the persecuted. Reading through the article on page 10, former first gentleman Mike Arroyo’s grandson, Joshua Arroyo, was released from custody “pending resolution of the complaint against (him) of illegal drugs possession” after what was described as clearly getting caught in the act of using illegal drugs in a police buy-bust operation. In contrast, the article on page 11 detailed what is becoming to be a familiar daily refrain of suspected drug users and pushers, mostly from very poor communities, being summarily executed.

Even in the war on drugs, indeed nothing has changed.

GERRY C. LINCO, Fairview, Quezon City