More facilities, stronger navy: Bets offer solutions to drug trade, jail congestion
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte campaign to eradicate the country of illegal drugs will leave a bloody trail of thousands of Filipinos dead in the wake of his administration.
Whoever among the presidential aspirants wins will inherit a Philippines where thousands have been slain in the bloody "drug war" and where thousands others are locked up in congested jails and prisons.
Asked how they propose to address the problem of drugs and the congestion of jail facilities, here is how the five aspirants at the KBP Forum on Friday answered:
Mega jail facility, regionalizing jails
Sen. Manny Pacquiao proposed the creation of a mega prison that will also house those convicted of stealing from the government.
"Especially those who are sentenced due to corruption, they will all go there and the penal colonies that are cramped will be less congested, like in the New Bilibid Prison," he said in Filipino.
His fellow lawmaker and presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo Lacson said there is a need to regionalize prisons.
“We have a program with [Senate President Tito Sotto] to make it regionalized. Why are there riots (in Bilibid)? Because their families can no longer visit them, so problems will crop up. Rehabalitation is one of the programs when you’re jailed. [Jails should be regionalized] so their families can visit them,” Lacson added.
In January, the Department of Justice said the Bureau of Corrections—the agency that manages Bilibid and seven other penal facilities nationwide—has formed a committee to study moving the NBP to Nueva Ecija, a project that has long been in the government’s pipeline.
BuCor has already submitted its proposal, and this is under serious consideration by the DOJ, Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco said on January 23.
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Amending the law, improving enforcement
Vice President Leni Robredo noted that the BuCor posts a 114% congestion rate, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology posts an even higher congestion rate of 582% the number of inmates their facilities were designed for.
More than 70% of those detained at BJMP facilities—jails are for people undergoing investigation or trial—are drug cases, Robredo pointed out.
"We need to amend the Dangerous Drugs law so there will be delineation,” she said. Robredo, a lawyer, said there should be different penalties for drug users, drug dependents and drug pushers.
Labor leader Leody de Guzman absolutely rejected the killings in the Duterte administration that he said is not the solution.
"We should strengthen the enforcement of the law and policies in addressing this, and arrest and jail the financers and drug lords. For victims at the bottom, we should treat it as a health problem and rehabilitate them," he added,
Lacson, a former police chief, said that the focus should not always be on law enforcement. He said prevention and rehabilitation, including market constriction and demand reduction, should also be prioritized.
Strengthening borders
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said he would go to what he said is the root of the problem, which is the supply chain.
"If there is no supply and there are no drugs available in our country, naturally, all these things, the problems cited [by fellow aspirants], these will be resolved. They will die a natural death,” he added.
Moreno said he will strengthen the Philippine Navy, not only for patroling the West Philippine Sea, but also to keep drugs from being smuggled into the country. Traditionally, maritime law enforcement is done by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group.
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