About that all-out war against illegal drugs

We’ve already written about that approved Congressional franchise to put up a Greyhound Dog Racing in Mandaue City sponsored by our good friends, Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz and Rep. Benhur Salimbangon. It seems that I’m hitting a blank wall on this issue as if it were some kind of mafia operation where everyone has taken the “Code of Omerta” not to spill the beans on the people behind this obvious money-making project.

As we pointed out, the beneficiary of this bill is a company called Fox New Millennium Amusement Club, Inc. (FNMACI) who would be given a Congressional franchise to operate this dog racing in the City of Mandaue. Who are the people behind this caper? Why hasn’t anyone come out in the open to defend this project? I’m asking this question because if we get to know who are the people backing this project, we would like to know whether they would pocket all their earnings or donate it to some kind of charity group or organizations.

All forms of gambling done in this country have been placed under the control and supervision of the Philippine Games and Amusement Corp. (Pagcor) for the simple reason that a huge chunk of its proceeds are earmarked for the social amelioration projects of the Office of the President. But if there is anything I’m sure of, a dog racing project isn’t being envisioned by Pagcor because it involves the use of animals, something that animal conservationists abhor. So let’s hear from the officers of FNMACI about their plans in Mandaue City. What does Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes think of this project? Is he against or for this? Who knows, this could be an election issue?

* * *

What a country! Just because the minor daughter of a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) had been abducted and raped, Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) has now declared an all-out war against illegal drugs. It just makes me wonder how many hundreds if not thousands of minor children have been sexually abused, violated and dehumanized because of drug abuse? I’m sure there are a lot of them. So now, this is the marching orders from Malacañang to fight the drug menace.

Call me an irreverent skeptic, but one of the main reasons why the government has failed miserably in the war against illegal drugs is due to the reality that justice in this country moves ever so slowly. Unless the Executive Branch and the Judiciary come up with a bold and novel plan to speed up the Justice system, I don’t think we have a Chinaman’s chance of winning this war against illegal drugs. Put corruption into this equation and all the more it gets more difficult to win this war.

If you’ve been reading the anti-drug wars raging from Afghanistan to Mexico and in the US, there is a clear pattern that drug lords employ. That is government connections, including lawyers, corrupt policemen and prosecutors, including corrupt judges! We’ve seen enough Mafia movies to know and understand that those stories are not pure fiction, but a reality. Worse, when they are pinned down, drug lords use assassins to kill those who are a threat to their business.

By now, I’m sure that the President is fully aware that her making that declaration of an all-out war to fight illegal drugs is no guarantee that she would win this war. Call it a calculated risk especially for her political party the Partido ng Lakas at Kampi (PLK) who will be fielding a Presidential candidate to battle the opposition party. So is this all-out war mere rhetoric or a knee-jerk reaction to the news of the girl’s abuse?

Please don’t get me wrong, the President is correct in making that declaration of an all-out war against illegal drugs. I’m merely pointing out the weaknesses in our present system that would negate any gains we would make in this battle of wills. We don’t want any lip service in this fight against illegal drugs. What we need here is a super body that would prosecute drug pushers and users. I believe that it is the drug users who provide the demand that the drug pushers fulfill. 

* *  *

Talking about lip service, the Southeast Asian Ministers are meeting in Phuket, Thailand have just approved the creation of a new Regional Commission on Human Rights (RCHR) to monitor their member countries on any abuses of human rights that they may commit, which is a step in the right direction. However, even before this body could be formed, it is handicapped by the fact that the ASEAN Ministers did not cloak it with powers to punish, not even to monitor. So this is nothing for ASEAN to crow about, until they make this body a credible and powerful one.

* * *

Email: [email protected]