EDITORIAL - 1.7 million and counting

An estimated 1.7 million Filipinos are hooked on drugs, with about 1,700 dying due to their addiction. This was reported to the House committee on dangerous drugs yesterday by the executive director of the Dangerous Drugs Board. The DDB reported that the number of drug users grew by 200,000 in the past two years. How the DDB came up with those numbers is not clear. Lawmakers said they believed the numbers were higher.

The number of Filipinos abusing prohibited drugs without being addicted to the substances is certain to be higher. Even bus and truck drivers have been known to use shabu to keep them awake during long-haul trips. The drug use has been blamed for many fatal road accidents, including head-on collisions and vehicles falling into ravines along winding mountain roads.

Drug abuse has also been blamed for many violent crimes, including murder and rape with homicide. Shabu is accessible even to the poor. Several brutal crimes were perpetrated by tricycle drivers who said they were high on shabu. This is the social cost of drug trafficking, but those involved in the illegal trade often manage to stay a step ahead of those tasked to pursue them.

According to reports, the Philippines continues to be a key transshipment point for the international drug trade as well as a manufacturing center for shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride. Corruption is a major cause, with shabu laboratories and drug dens and so-called one-stop shops enjoying the protection of law enforcers and local government officials. Accused drug dealers are allowed to post bail by corrupt judges, and then allowed to leave the country by corrupt immigration agents.

Inefficiency also plays a role. Anti-narcotics units unfamiliar with laws governing raids, arrests and seizure of evidence have often found drug cases dismissed by courts and accused drug dealers freed due to technicalities.

The overall result is the increasing number of drug abusers. Authorities know the extent of the problem and must do more to confront it.