What is your assessment of the extent of the drug problem in the Philippines?

L. Villa, Batac City: The drug problem has become a social cancer, a malignant problem that has afflicted even public officials, rich and poor, young and old alike.

Nap Cinco, Rizal: It’s sad to say this, but 90 percent of our cities and highly urbanized towns and municipalities are affected and afflicted by this drug menace. Help!

We’re the unofficial Colombia of the Far East

Manuel Abejero, Pangasinan: RP is the unofficial Colombia of the Far East. Local and foreign druglords are caught and released based on technicalities, not due to lack of evidence. The DOJ claims that PDEA lost some cases because of the failure of arresting officers to appear in the hearing while the DOJ’s method and style is to enlarge what seems to be a quark of a technical error in the apprehension, safekeeping of evidence, and preparation of formal charges than to coordinate with PDEA in the preparation of an airtight case against those apprehended. They always find fault in everything that PDEA does that people tend to believe that our country is now under the influence and control of druglord politicians. In Colombia, druglords can dictate on the government. Are we going to let it happen here?

Jim Veneracion, Naga City: With the DOJ’s dismal record against the drug menace, I dread the day we become a narco-state. It could happen.

Ishmael Calata, Parañaque City: I believe no one can truly make a correct assessment of the extent of the drug problem in the Philippines except those who are involved in it. But, based on news reports, columns, and conversations, this menace that now threatens the very life of our countrymen, especially the youth, has reached gargantuan proportions. What is now dreaded is the alleged involvement of people in government who are supposed to be the guardians of the citizenry. If true, what is disturbing is the mention in news reports that the Philippines is the trans-shipment point of illegal drugs in the region and that only means we don’t have the capability to guard the shores of the many islands that comprise our archipelago where these shipments enter the country. Is it true that illegal drugs and raw materials used in the manufacture of prohibited drugs are also passing through our major ports?

Drug syndicates enjoy protection

Digoy Coro, Batangas: It is becoming worse due to government officials that protect drug syndicates.

Gerii Calupitan, Muntinlupa City: This is my firsthand assessment: A bureau chief appointed a convicted drug pusher as unit head and his bodyguard is a shabu user. He kicks out those who disagree with him. Drug traders will attest that, even in jail, drugs abound. My buddy related to me that when a cache of prohibited drugs was confiscated inside our area of responsibility, the son of a politician arrived and told them: ‘Pag nalaman ng tatay ko ito, magagalit ‘yun sa inyo. Nothing leaked out in the media. Heinous crimes involve drug users, pati sa showbiz.

Illegal drugs destroy lives

Dennis Acop, Baguio City: The problem has to be licked as soon as possible before it becomes bigger. This is the only most effective means to combat it. Waiting too long and merely applying palliative solutions won’t cut it. It is a formidable enemy. Its coffers are huge. It is transnational and its network includes some prominent names, both public and private, local and international. Since its resources are huge, the drug industry has the capacity and inclination to buy its way out of any obstacle, primarily against the law. It is literally a menace. It ruins lives, including those of the victim’s relatives and other social acquaintances, and those of the victims of drug-related random crimes. Many of the illegal drugs, like methamphetamines, literally destroy the brain. Many drugs are very addictive and once indulged in are very difficult to give up. It is the mother of all criminal, psycho-social, and economic crimes known to man.

Rey Ibalan, Antipolo City: I think it’s very serious. The drug problem has ruined many lives and continues to ravage families. Law enforcement and the justice system are found wanting.

It’s getting worse

Alexander Raquepo, Ilocos Sur: I think it’s getting worse! This can be attributed to many causes like “corruptible” customs officials, the involvement of some police and military officers (active or retired), delayed court decisions on drug cases (including the way we manage drug cases), and the presence of pushers and users. What really pisses me off is that our regulatory bodies (PDEA, DOJ, NBI, etc.) are the ones now in war due to their own messy procedures. Their not getting their acts together is a very dangerous situation in solving our drug problem.

Cris Rivera, Rizal: The growing number of pushers and users and manufacturers says our law against illegal drugs is stringent only on paper. The menace may turn into a plague.

Rey Onate, Palayan City: The use of illegal drugs has permeated all levels of life in our society, from the very rich down to the batang kalye that sniffs rugby. I say on a scale of 1–10, with 10 as the highest, the drug problem is at 7.5. The best data that I managed to collect is the number of individuals in our place who were able to build mansions and establish legitimate businesses by engaging in drug pushing years ago. Authorities made a number inquiries but the wealth they accumulated through drug pushing enabled them to hire kampanilla lawyers who made legal technical justifications and PR men that justify their existence and build them good reputations. I lost a dear brother due to illegal drugs.

Germi Sison, Cabanatuan City: The menace posed by prohibited drugs is international in scope and the danger it poses is similar to weapons of mass destruction where even innocent people are victimized. Drug addiction in the Philippines has already reached even the remote barrios. It is not noticed by unaware citizens in the barangay unless crimes related to it happened, as it did in a barangay in Pasig City. I only wonder why this menace is not even noticed by barangay officials, who should be the first informers of PDEA or of other government agencies checking prohibited drugs. No wonder PGMA, despite the already heavy burden on her shoulders, took the helm of prohibited drug fighters.

We need to punish drug pushers

Lydia Reyes, Bataan: Drugs are a serious problem in our country. Rich or poor, many are hooked on drugs. Let the pushers rot in jail or revive the death penalty.

The problem could be far-reaching

Ryan Pahimulin, Rizal: Courts all over the country are being swamped by drug-related cases. This shows how widespread the problem is.

Robert Young Jr., San Juan: Based on the number of drug busts made, the drug industry must be dealing in trillions of pesos annually. A friend from Tawi-Tawi told me not so long ago that drug syndicates have penetrated our southernmost islands because of their robust economy. The drug problem could be far-reaching from Aparri to Tawi-Tawi. It’s most prevalent in urban cities where people have money to buy drugs. Those who don’t have the money resort to petty crime or even kill for it. We can only guess the extent of the drug problem; only the right government agencies can tell us the real score.

Sahlee Reyes, Las Piñas City: The drug problem in our country is like a beastly giant octopus with its tentacles sucking the blood of the young generation, wreaking havoc and tumultuous disorder, carnage and destruction to a once unruffled and placid society and depleting our chances for a good future leader of the land.

Joel Caluag, Bulacan: The drug problem has become a clear and present danger. Even far-flung barrios we perceived to be drug-free have drug addicts.

Prosecutors should look at the big picture

Renato Taylan, Ilocos Norte: With the courts showing a dismal figure of conviction of drug pushers and drug traffickers, the drug problem is something like jueteng.

M. Lopez, Rizal: It’s a really bad problem. Rich people selling drugs to get richer and getting away with it really don’t help solve it at all. I cannot believe that there are prosecutors that are so blind and let all those deplorable things happen right under their noses. I wish that they look beyond the mere legal technicalities and recognize the big picture and the real situation.

Ed Alawi, Davao City: I believe that our country is a drug paradise because so many illegal drug laboratories have been found yet no one has ever been convicted, except for poor drug runners. Marijuana plantations and illegal drug laboratories keep getting discovered. How can we claim our young people are drug-free?

Drugs destroy; drug money corrupts

Ricardo Tolentino, Laoag City: Drugs destroy and drug money corrupts. These are the two chilling effects of the drug menace in our country.

Pedro Alagano Sr., Vigan City: It’s in the ICU. Despite several apprehensions and the large volume of illegal drugs busted in the past, the trade refuses to die for obvious reasons.

James Gaw, Quezon City: It is rampant and alarming. Many drug pushers have strong connections, including some public officials.

Felix Ramento, Manila: Nowadays, not only users and pushers are into illegal drugs. Shameless government officials as well as prominent members of society have also joined in reaping the fruits sowed by the devil.

Edwin Castillo, Tanauan City: There is a perception that drug law offenders bribe their way out of criminal investigation and persecution by paying authorities.

The justice system is helpless against it

Col. Ben Paguirigan Jr., Ret., Zamboanga City: Malala talaga.  We should unite to fight this menace that destroys the very foundations of family, community and eventually, our government. Look at how the judiciary handles it!

Fortunato Aguirre, Bulacan: The drug problem is a serious menace to society. It is disheartening to see big offenders being set free by our corrupt and inutile justice system.

A formidable, deeply-rooted reality

Marlone Ramirez, Dubai: The drug problem in the Philippines is not a mere issue, but a formidable reality deeply rooted in our society. We are confronted with a profound dilemma: Mired in corruption, how will the government fare against the scourge of illicit drugs? The raging epidemic of drug addiction does not need simply prevention, but also more rehabilitation facilities nationwide. The government must not succumb in these drug wars, which is muffled by the worldwide drug culture.

Manny Cordeta, Marikina City: The menace, undoubtedly, has gone haywire in alarming proportions. Almost daily we hear or read of reports involving celebrities, and lately, scions of rich families. The enterprising drug syndicates have found it a very lucrative business; the lords have been callous, insensitive or even ruthless, so long as they achieve their targets in whatever manner. Many lives have been lost in a senseless fashion. I pity the victims and the users. I don’t undermine the efforts being initiated by the DDB, PDEA and other law-enforcing agencies. I heard they’ve upgraded their efforts to the next level, something like “a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye”? Time is of the essence; it’s a welcome development.

Rodolfo Talledo, Angeles City: Its prevalence is enormous, despite relentless efforts of the PDEA and PNP. I give it a six on a scale of one to 10.

Jose Fabello Jr., Cagayan de Oro City: The drug problem must really be a big problem. Otherwise, PGMA would not come forward to attempt to solve the problem herself if there were nothing wrong.

We should work together

Reynaldo Garcia, Quezon City: My assessment is that it is already worse. Instead of fighting over who is responsible for foiled operations, government agencies should work together.

Dave Velasco, Marinduque: The drug problem is the result of weak enforcement, passive cooperation and teamwork among agencies, and a mindset of parochialism.

Johann Lucas, Quezon City: Very alarming. As citizens we can do something to fight it, if all of us work together to give information about the negative effects of drugs.

Deo Durane, Naga City: It is now like an institutionalized menace. In all walks of life, we have problems related to its proliferation. Rich and poor families alike have members that are hooked on a drug-chained problem. Even the DOJ itself cannot function well. Aren’t they under grave hallucinations that the controversial Alabang boys are still free men? The DOJ people perhaps are heavily drunk, like tripping themselves in the wilderness. Aren’t they addicts themselves, overdosing on power? Wake up. If the escalating drug problem is not put to an end, we will soon end up with a loser society. Let us start from the basics in fighting the drug problem. At home, we should recheck the itineraries of our children. As for law enforcers, they should implement laws strictly. In the judiciary, they must use their common sense in deciding cases; not purely physical evidence alone will determine the guilt of those involved in drug-related activities. Our chain collaboration will become a strong weapon against this drug menace.

Go to the root cause

Felmar Rowell Singco, Northern Samar: My assessment of the drug problem in our country is that it is an illustration of the ningas cogon mentality of the Filipino: One moment we are prodigiously against it, and then the next we negligently allow it. What we have been doing all these years regarding this pernicious addiction is that we have been cutting off the tentacles of the beast, while allowing the beast itself to survive, and thus allowing it to grow tentacles again. The solution to the drug problem of our country is to go to the root, to the beast itself and not just its tentacles, and then to crush and kill this root and this social beast that is drug addiction. We can do it by prosecuting assiduously the root cause: the Chinese sources of these syndicates.

G.J. Tumpag, Bacolod City: Horrible; it’s like a big can of dirty worms in which stupid drug users and pushers alike are discreetly hiding. Permit a surprise random drug test.

Edwin Castillo, Tanauan City: Chinese traders renting warehouses in secluded areas are potential shabu makers. Martial Law Lim Sengs are needed to instill fear among druglords.

Views expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The STAR. The STAR does not knowingly publish false information and may not be held liable for the views of readers exercising their right to free expression. The publication also reserves the right to edit contributions to this section as it sees fit.

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