FINDING a solution to the illegal drugs problem has proven to be elusive.
President Rodrigo Duterte once boasted he could eradicate the social menace in months only to backtrack once he realized the reality of the situation.
It doesn’t mean his administration is want of trying. In fact, the President has been criticized here and abroad for the mounting casualties in his bloody campaign in the war against illegal drugs with police conducting operations against drug personalities on almost daily basis.
Yet, it seems they’ve barely made a dent.
On Thursday, July 11, 2019, the Cebu Provincial Government joined the fray with Gov. Gwen Garcia declaring an all-out war against illegal drugs.
During her press conference, Garcia reminded the media that putting a stop to the drug trade was one of her priorities along with combating illegal fishing and insurgency during her first three terms at the helm of the province years back.
This time around, the governor wants judges and prosecutors to get on board to help with the speedy disposition of cases, especially those involving illegal drugs.
She said the war against illegal drugs will be waged province-wide.
The problem has become so serious that it requires everybody’s participation. Much like what law enforcement agencies worldwide have been doing to combat online sexual exploitation of children.
Foreign governments have been cooperating with domestic authorities to ferret out pedophiles.
Last Wednesday, a 41-year-old German national was arrested in Lapu-Lapu City for allegedly sexually abusing children and distributing child sexual exploitation materials on the internet.
Police were tipped off about his illegal activities by the Australian government. The Queensland Police Service had been coordinating with the German police, the PNP’s Women and Children Protection Center and the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center after it discovered that the suspect had been producing sexually explicit images of Filipino children.
Perhaps, with an all-inclusive approach in the war against illegal drugs, authorities can finally put a stop to the problem. Or at least prevent it from spreading further.