|
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Malilong: Poison in shabu?
By Frank Malilong, Jr.
The Other Side
THE suggestion of an anti-crime group to lace shabu with poison was also raised here some years back by, if I am not mistaken, Mayor Tomas Osmeña as a deterrent to the use of the illegal substance. The gravity of the drug abuse problem does call for tough measures but poisoning the user will not do because it is hitting the wrong target. The law regards the user as a victim rather than as an offender. I am not suggesting that we adopt the so-called “Davao experiment” where bullet-riddled bodies of known drug pushers turn up in that city regularly. But if a “final solution” has to be dealt, caution should be observed to insure that it is applied to the criminals, not the victims.
Just how serious is the illegal drugs problem? Two weeks ago, a group known as Kamatuoran, Inc., hosted a forum at the Sacred Heart Center to tackle the issue. In attendance were priests, businessmen and a handful of school heads. Cardinal Vidal, who delivered the inspirational talk, sat through the whole session.
According to a paper read during the forum, the Philippines only had 20,000 addicts in 1972 with marijuana as the drug of choice. In 2001, the figure rose to 1.8 million. In addition, there were 1.6 million occasional users of either shabu or Ecstasy. What was disturbing was that 1.2 million or 66 per cent of the drug addicts belonged to the so-called “youth sector”, those with ages between 7 to 21.
Citing figures from the United Nations, the paper said that of the estimated US $500-billion narcotics trade in the whole world in 1998, roughly $2.1 billion took place in the Philippines. Kamatuoran painted a grim scenario of this country becoming the “Colombia of Asia” citing the Hispanic heritage and the long history of political turmoil which both countries share in common. Drug money, it said, elects people to public office and corrupts whole branches of government.
I read in the papers that a renewed anti-drug war will be waged by the government. I do not know what makes this campaign different from the previous ones that failed. All that I know is that the government cannot afford to continue to fail. The price of another failure could all be too steep.
***
The bootlickers who continue to whisper in President Arroyo’s ear that she should run for president in 2004 should be banned from the Palace and, if they’re occupying government positions, fired immediately for doing the President and the country a disservice. Mrs. Arroyo already declared that she is not seeking presidency anymore. She must have done so only after days and nights of soul-searching. The decision wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Her wish should be respected. Those who insist otherwise are asking her to break her word. Their persistence borders on the insolent and only serves to aggravate the political uncertainty pervading the nation. There can be no justification strong enough to make the President turn her back on a solemn and unsolicited declaration. The President’s word is her covenant with her people. To a decent and upright leader, it is a covenant carved on granite.
It is understandable why some people want her to keep the presidency. They never had it so good. They’re not willing to give up the perks that they enjoy while Mrs. Arroyo is in office. So they invent all sorts of reasons to persuade her to run again and hopefully win.
I trust that Mrs. Arroyo is wise enough to see what is good for her and for the country; that she will not allow herself to be talked out of her announced retirement from politics when her assumed term ends. When she does exit in 2004, she will do so in a blaze of glory. And fittingly so because she will by then have earned her place in history.
(July 1, 2003 issue)
Want Sun.Star news on your mobile phone? Click here.
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
