EDITORIAL - Being drug-free is the easy part

Toledo City Mayor Sonny Osmeña raised a lot of eyebrows when he claimed in a press conference that his city is now "drug-free." Not that the claim is impossible but much of the surprise apparently stemmed from the fact that he also claimed to have accomplished the feat in 30 days.

Sonny is one of the most credible politicians around, so the incredulity may have nothing to do with his person but rather with the swiftness with which the feat was supposed to have been accomplished. The drug problem has festered for so long that people are not likely to believe it can be wiped out in a month's time.

But Sonny is not one to make false claims either, so some explanation must lie somewhere. One police officer has a theory. It may be true, this police officer claims, that the drug personalities in Toledo have fled, but they could just be around the next corner in another locality.

What this theory means is that the drug problem in Toledo City is not solved by simply arresting or driving away the drug personalities that used to lord it over the city. It means that there is more work to be done, both by Sonny and the police.

But Sonny should be congratulated for making the effort, and for achieving something to show for it. Not many officials make fighting the drug problem a priority in their administration. But Sonny did and has something to brag about. That is something you cannot take away from the man.

What Sonny did was the easy part, though. Keeping Toledo City drug-free will eventually prove much harder than just arresting and chasing the drug personalities away. Remember, it is far easier to identify the pushers than the users.

The users are the ones that Sonny cannot drive away. The bigger challenge for the mayor now is how to identify these users and reform or rehabilitate them, that they may not fall for the temptation that could be lurking just right next door.

In this task, Sonny needs to gain the confidence and cooperation of his constituents. Sonny must be able to persuade the people of Toledo that what he is doing is for the good of everyone. And what is good for everyone is good for their city. Sonny has some way to go, but he is on the right track.