LOOK FOR OTHER MEASURES

August 17, 2024 Opinion

The Philippine National Police (PNP) was ordered the other day by its chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil to conduct a comprehensive review of the war on drugs conducted by the previous administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. According to General Marbil it is his intention to determine and evaluate the effectiveness of the anti-drug campaign of the past administration particularly ‘Oplan Tokhang’ and ‘Double Barrel’ which were the schemes of the drug war.

If the review is to gain an insight on how the Duterte war on drugs was implemented and whether it made a dent on the pernicious illegal drug trade in the country then the PNP need only check its records, as well as those of other government agencies and offices involved, for the facts and figures needed for the evaluation. As to whether the
campaign was successful the PNP need only go by its records again, this time under the administration of president
Bongbong Marcos, to discover that not only has the Duterte drug war failed in its intended objective but the earnest attempt by the government to suppress and quell the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country has yet to be realized.

If its any consolation past administrations and even the current one has exerted mightily in their efforts to put a stop to the illegal drug menace but just like in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Myanmar, Europe and so many other countries illegal drugs have always found a way into the hands of pushers and users. And the problem only exacerbates when these illegal drugs are sold under the shield of protection offered by those whose job is supposed to prevent it. But going back to the comprehensive review ordered by PNP Chief Marbil would it be possible to also include in that assessment a study to determine other approaches towards minimizing the various targets of the campaign against illegal drugs in order to arrive at more focused objectives.

Admittedly and it is worth noting that at the moment the PNP as well as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) have made some headway against those peddling marijuana (cannabis sativa) and its derivatives and shabu
(metamphetamine hydrochloride) and its derivatives, and other synthetic opiods. While there are programs of the government currently being implemented to supposedly prevent individuals and communities from being infected by these illegal drugs– barkada kontra droga is one– perhaps there are other indirect approaches to lessen or at least minimize the influence of illegal drugs in the country.

This is a good approach on the preventive side but what about on the curative side? What if, and following the statement made by Gen. Marbil in his order for review, “We need to take a hard look at our past and present strategies in the fight against illegal drugs. By understanding what worked and what did not, we can refine our approach and ensure a more effective and humane campaign moving forward,” the government will again reconsider putting up detention facilities exclusively for those temporarily detained or those already convicted for violation
of Republic Act 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2022.

These special detention facilities will house only those with pending cases and those already convicted for either using or selling drugs. Those individuals with pending drug cases will be detained in a separate wing of the prison
facility while those already convicted will be made to stay in another wing of the building, or even another building within the facility. Why is there a need to separate them from the general prison population? Well, the reasons are gamut but one or two that stands out is that they will be prevented from further infecting or influencing other prisoners from using or selling illegal drugs, and another is to better monitor their activities given the modern technologies available to observe them while they are in prison.

Still another is that these detainees or convicts will be deprived of the possibility of being influenced by hardened convicts who are members of notorious criminal gangs who have made it their vocation to recruit even while in prison. Statistics tell us that as of 2022 there are already around 90,000 individuals in the country who are in prison because of drugs and termed as persons with deprived liberty (PDL). Of this number more than 23, 000 are incarcerated in the national capital region while the CALABARZON is a close second with more than 20,000 PDLs.

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has 544 PDLs in 2022, but already the overall picture shows that there are thousands of PDLs who can still be rehabilitated provided they are put at a distance away from other bad influences while they are in prison. (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/ 1279645/philippines-number-of prisoners-with-drug-cases-by region/ ) Finally, as a suggestion a study should also be made on recent alternative measures already adopted by other countries in their own wars against drugs. This will help the country in the continuing war against the drug trade.