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Business Insight
Tuesday, Februa ry 19, 2OL9
Opposition solons:
Gov't should listen
to people in war vs drugs
BY WENDELL VIGILIA
THE administtation should lis-
ten to the will of the people and
ensure that due process is being
followed in its war against illegal
drugs, opposition lawmakers said
yesterday.
Rep. Gary Alejano (I-P, Magda-
lol said it is clearrn the latest Social
Veather Stations (S\Yr'$ sutvey that
the people want the government to
observe due process in the 6ght
against drugs.
"This particular survey is a addicts in their neighbothood.
manifestation that Filipinos want
dtug offenders to undergo due
ptocess. The public believe,in
iustice for all. Unfortunatell', our
govefnment does not consider
this," said Alejano, a seoatotial
candidate under the oppositioo's
Otso Direto slate.
Alelano was refetting to the
SWS' Decembet 2018 survey
which showed tlat 95 petcent of
respondents believe it is important
to capture dtug tfade susPects
alive.
About 87 percent of the re-
spondents believe the police also
considet it important to capture
&ug suspects alive.
"The Palace even boasted about
one of the results of the survey
which sates that majority of Filipi-
nos sees fewer dtug offendets. We
should take no pride in thousands
of cases of exfta-iudicial killings,"
Alejano said.
Alejano also utged tlre govetn-
ment to consider the dtug Problem
as a publ.ic healthissue that should
be addtessed thtough rehabilita-
tion and substance abuse Pteven
tion education.
He said "Oplan: Tokhang" is
obviously only for the Poor while
big-time drug syndicates continue
with their illegal activities.
Rep. Tom Villarin (PL, Akbay-
an) paid the sutvey result "should
serve as a wake-up call that effec-
tive lavr enforcement is needed
where ctiminals ate brought to
\ PAq€ - 6&-"
courts and not elimiqated in so-
called 'nanlaban' excuses bY tlle
police."
"Filioinos want the tule of law
followid and not the killings of
drug suspects by the police," he
said. "This also validates our call
that this impunity in tlle so called
war on drugs must stop now and
people shouid be held account-
able."
The same SWS surve,l' results
showed that 66 percent of Filipi-
nos *rink that thete are fewet &ug
Only 14 percent believe the
number of drug users and Ped-
dlers increased in the past yeat,
while seven percent said the figure
remain the sarne.
Villatin said Ptesident Dutete's
war on diugs gives the people "an
illusion, a false sense of depth like
what the miror gives us, that the
war on &ugs is a success."
"Malacaiang should know bet-
ter that the drug problem can't be
solved by seeing lessof them out
io the streets. Maybe they have
gone underground and found
cteative ways to avoid detection.
Doo't gloat over the sutveys,"
he said.
The opposition congtessman
said what the survey actually
showed "rvas hovr effective Presi-
dent Duterte 's method in instilling
fear rather than solving problems."
"The urge to save FiliPinos
from the dnag menace through
killing is almost always a false
ftont for the urge to rule at all
costs. Seeing no dtug addicts is
a false face that must hide rvhat
fear in their hearts do knorv
that the drug problem still lurks
menacinslv-" sard Villarin.
With tie torrs of shatu being
shippedl into the Philippines
thtough the Bureau of Customs
and the recently-found dozens
of kilos of cocaine bricks in
Dinagat lslands, Villatin said
the Philippines "is indeed still
a narcotics haven."