Pubdate: Tue, 21 Feb 2006
Source: Manila Times (Philippines)
Copyright: 2006, The Manila Times
Contact:  http://www.manilatimes.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/921
Author: Ernesto F. Herrera
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

DRUG DEALING AND TRAFFICKING BIGGER TODAY

Policy Peek

EVEN in a society where drug dealing and drug trafficking are no
longer out of the ordinary, the "shabu tiangge" in Pasig City that was
busted by the police last week stands out as the biggest and most
blatant drug den in the Philippines.

They were called "restaurants" but were certainly not the places where
you could sit down to eat because shabu was the only thing on the
menu. To think that they had operated for more than a year under the
very noses of police and city officials is truly incomprehensible.
Politics aside, you have to support Congressman Dodot Jaworski's move
to haul Mayor Vicente Eusebio of Pasig to court to determine his
responsibility for the illegal operation, if not the alleged attempt
at cover-up after the "shabu tiangge" was raided.

While it was the police who were responsible for the raid based on a
tip that they got, some members of the police themselves are saying
that it is apparent that the "shabu tiangge" was given the green light
to operate by their brothers in uniform, perhaps in return for bribes
worth millions of pesos. Perhaps their activities were not even
limited to just huge kickbacks and monthly retainers. It would not
surprise me if the guilty officers (maybe some high-level commanders
among them) set up the drug network themselves.

The issue of police involvement in the case provides a microcosm of
life in and around the police force. As chairman of the Citizens
DrugWatch Foundation and previously the chairman of the Senate ad hoc
committee on illegal drugs, I frequently exposed not only police
officers, but also local officials who were directly involved in drug
trafficking and drug dealing, as well as the members of judiciary who
acted as their protectors. There were many cases when drug operations
were granted by the police through a system of franchises.

Their corrupt activities for sure extended beyond the drug trade. For
instance, jueteng operations are also granted as franchises. However,
getting involved in drug trade to me is the worst possible offense for
the police because of the destruction it causes to our society.
Seventy-five percent of all heinous crimes are drug-related and most
drug users and addicts are 35 years old and below. The drug trade is
literally destroying the country's future.

The Philippine National Police has a lot of explaining to do as to
where its intelligence funds go. If I were Congress I'd take it to
task for not knowing about the "shabu tiangge" despite its substantial
intelligence budget allocation. What exactly have they been doing
about the money?

Also, if ever there was a need for an exemption to the
anti-wiretapping law, this would be the case. I personally wouldn't
mind using listening devices and phone intercepts to monitor the
police and find out who among them are coddlers or co-conspirators of
drug dealers. We certainly need more sting operations to catch these
police criminals but does the present administration have the
political will to rock the boat so to speak in the police force when
it direly needs the support of the men and women in uniform to hold on
to power? Does it even have the moral ascendancy to root out the
corruption not only in the police and the military, but also in the
entire government itself, when its leader is accused of notoriously
perverting the course of justice in the country?

Nevertheless, it's sad to say the least that the very evils I've been
fighting against several years ago in the halls of the Senate are
still around today. Corrupt cops have not only survived but a new
generation of police drug traffickers has surpassed the "old guard."
Drug dealing and drug trafficking are bigger than ever today because
of police-sanctioned illegal drug activities.

It is inconceivable that such levels of corruption and abuse of power
could exist without being known in the highest echelons of the police
force. In the case of the "shabu tiangge," given the scale of the
proceeds, more senior officers must have been involved than those
already sanctioned.

According to some friends in the media reports, some honest members of
the police force have indicated that this (last week's drug bust) is
just the tip of the iceberg; that the widespread corruption and the
involvement of the police in the illegal drug trade and other criminal
activities are embarrassing beyond belief, and that exposing this
would surely and permanently damage the image of the police in the
public's eye. 
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MAP posted-by: Tom