Pubdate: Tue, 09 Aug 2016
Source: Philippine Star (Philippines)
Column: First Person
Copyright: PhilSTAR Daily Inc. 2016
Contact:  http://www.philstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/622
Author: Alex Magno

UNORTHODOX

He just does things differently. Way past midnight last weekend, in a 
military camp no one heard of, during the wake for soldiers killed 
fighting insurgents, President Rodrigo Duterte delivered a bombshell 
of a speech. He named 160 mayors, judges and police officers he 
accuses of involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

The speech reverberated across the globe, carried by the major 
international news networks. Because the speech was delivered in the 
wee hours, print media missed out on the explosive expose. But it was 
carried all day by the broadcast media.

Very early Sunday morning some of the local officials named as drug 
coddlers made the rounds of television and radio stations trying to 
clear their names. In the interactive media environment we now have, 
it was possible for their own constituents to contest the denials.

When one town mayor, for instance, denied coddling drug traders, his 
own constituents texted in their testimonies. By Monday morning, 
those testimonies converted into live radio interviews filling in the details.

That followed the pattern of what happened days before. When the 
mayor of Albuera, Leyte was named a drug coddler last week, the 
official rushed to the PNP headquarters to deny the information. A 
police team in his hometown, however, was alerted about armed men at 
the mayor's Albuera residence. In the ensuing shootout, six of the 
mayor's heavily armed bodyguards were killed.

Although he owned several mansions, the mayor had no source of income 
to justify his property holdings. While the mayor came in wearing a 
golf shirt, reporters noticed he wore expensive Italian shoes. His 
wife and daughter lugged even more expensive designer bags. The slip showed.

Anticipating the criticism of his methods by the self-appointed 
guardians of "due process," Duterte prefaced the presentation of his 
explosive list with a long discussion about the need to unmask the 
protectors of the drug syndicates. He took responsibility for any 
errors in what he was about to report. But it was his duty to make 
the public aware of the information he had.

For days, the President spoke of dismantling the "apparatus" that 
made drugs a scourge for the nation. The biggest drug lords resided 
abroad, beyond the reach of our law, including the largest 
Mexico-based drug cartel. But without a functioning distribution 
apparatus, it will not be easy for them to operate in our domestic market.

If we relied on the orthodox process of building a case before naming 
the offenders, it would take a century for our anti-drug people to 
even dent the scourge. By that time, we would have been overrun by 
narcopolitics.

The magnitude of the drug menace requires more creative measures. The 
one Duterte chose was to name and shame the drug coddlers. One might 
also call the tactic Shock and Awe. Duterte's reputation precedes 
him. Weeks before he formally assumed the presidency, it was reported 
that the drug syndicates had put out a fire sale, dropping their 
prices to dispose of stocks before they needed to flee the country. 
The police likewise mounted an antidrug effort like nothing we have 
seen before.

In his first month in office, hundreds of thousands of drug users 
turned up to surrender. The turnout was so surprising, local 
governments did not know what to do with the horde.

Then there was the body count. The casualties were officially 
reported as encounters with resisting criminals. Few of us take that 
with full seriousness, but the outcry is limited.

In the case of Sunday morning's list of drug coddlers, the effect was 
devastating. Those named in the list hurriedly turned up to report to 
the authorities.

The biggest catch was not on the list. The biggest drug lord in the 
Visayas decided he could not stand the heat. He turned up at Camp 
Crame yesterday to surrender.

If this anti-drug effort were not as serious as it has been (body 
count included), the response from the community of drug lords would 
not have been what it is.

Police records show that drug-related crimes dropped dramatically 
since the former mayor of Davao City became president. The turnout in 
casinos likewise reflects the trend, confirming the suspicion that 
money-launderers (especially from the drugs trade) constitute an 
important segment of patrons.

Duterte promised, during the presidential campaign, he would 
substantially diminish the drug menace within six months after 
assuming office. Many took that as hyperbole. Now we are actually 
looking at that self-imposed deadline as eminently achievable.

Few imagined the anti-drug campaign would be as relentless as it has 
been so far. Few anticipated the likes of Ronald "Bato" de la Rosa, 
Duterte's handpicked police chief, who is as passionate in winning 
the war against the drug syndicates as his boss.

For that matter, few imagined the magnitude of the drug menace to be 
as we now see.

We have seen the data before: 92 percent of our barangays are 
drug-infested. Maybe three million Filipinos are drug-dependents. The 
total volume of the drug trade is inestimable.

But the previous administration never spoke of the threat this posed. 
It was never once mentioned in any of Noynoy Aquino's SONAs. It was 
never really frontally addressed by Mar Roxas in his years as DILG chief.

Now we are shocked more at the scale of this menace than the sight of 
dead criminals.

Sure, there is an orthodox way of getting the job done. But that has 
proven ineffectual in the past.

Duterte's unorthodox approach, by contrast, yields impressive results.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom