EDITORIAL - But what is government doing about rugby kids?

In its aggressive campaign against illegal drugs, the government must not lose sight of the fact that it is not only drug lords, pushers and users it is up against. While these people do require special attention, being already deep into drugs and have become hardened participants in this criminal activity, government must reserve some effort to address the next generations that follow them.

For instance, almost anywhere you look in Cebu City alone, but most especially in the uptown area from Fuente Osmeña down to General Maxilom Avenue and their peripheries, you are bound to see hordes of children, boys and girls aged probably 7 to 12, roaming around constantly sniffing solvents, popularly known as rugby, from plastic bags in their hands.

These children at the very least beg for loose change that they either gamble away or buy whatever they can for food. But more often than not they employ more aggressive means of acquiring money. They prey on unsuspecting passersby, especially foreign tourists, who they gang up on and grab from whatever they can. Once they have enough money, they buy readily available solvents by which they get their high.

These kids have long wizened up to the fact that the country's laws protecting children can keep them out of jail. They have therefore realized that the law can be used to their advantage. And so they go around the city in marauding packs with almost absolute impunity, harassing other people and posing a threat to everyone including themselves.

In the areas where these rugby boys and girls operate are several schools whose students can become potential targets for snatching, bullying and even physical assault. It is possible that many incidents have already occurred involving these marauding kids but have not yet reached the level of significance for them to be reported.

But must we wait until something truly terrible happens? Where is the government in this regard? Surely it cannot be too focused on its various operations to the point that it would neglect a concern that has a real potential to become a humongous problem. The government only has to see that young as they are, these kids are already into the vicious vice of sniffing rugby.

The jump from rugby to shabu is not all that hard to imagine. In fact it could be the logical next step. And yet it is as if the government has completely turned a blind eye to this problem. The government can continue to do what it is doing. After all, its ratings in this regard are very high. But it must prepare for the future. It must prepare for the next wave. All its efforts now will be for naught if the next generation catches it by surprise.