Pubdate: Tue, 16 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 WAR What changed is that the socalled "war" on drugs is now taken most literally. Our entire police organization seems entirely focused on the drug problem. Raids are conducted incessantly. Evidence is being collected against the so-called "drug lords" and their powerful protectors. As all wars do, this effort produces a body count. It creates collateral damage, innocents harmed in the pursuit of powerful criminal gangs. As all wars do, this one creates a fog: a climate of confusion where vigilantes jump into the action and where the criminals themselves start eliminating rivals. As the body count bloats, public resistance to the antidrug effort begins to build. One media organization keeps a tally of the number killed since mid-May when it became clear Rodrigo Duterte is going to be president. Over the last weekend, the death tally topped a thousand. I am not sure if that includes that policeman in Cebu who wrote a note implicating two police generals in the drug trade. He left his post early and disappeared. Three days later, his remains were found with a single gunshot wound to the head. Suicide is not being ruled out. The Palace, appropriately intrigued by this case, has ordered a more thorough investigation. I am not sure if this list includes that strange incident at the Paranaque jail where a grenade was apparently lobbed at inmates. Nine were killed and several others wounded seriously. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is calling for an independent inquiry on this one. What is sure is that the death tally will continue to climb. The Duterte administration and the PNP leadership is not going to slow down on this effort, not after the initial gains that saw the syndicates break up and seek cover. There is, as the President put it, an "apparatus" needing to be destroyed. If that apparatus remains intact, the drug problem will persist. Also, the "war" on drugs enjoys tremendous public support. Since the "war" began, the volume of all index crimes dropped by nearly half. That supports the thesis that a large percentage of other crimes are ultimately drug-related. Anecdotal accounts say citizens now feel safer in the streets. Neighborhood toughies have chosen to remain in their homes for fear they could end up dead with a cardboard note beside them. Police raids have not been confined to the slums. Now the higher-end clubs are under close police surveillance for pushers of "party drugs." Even our jails are being raided. For years, the National Penitentiary functioned as operational headquarters for the drug lords. It is here that deals are cut and drugs are distributed. The facility has been raided countless of times and, for a while, put under the control of the SAF. Still, each time a raid is conducted, more unlikely items are recovered from the prisoners. A similar raid was conducted last week at the Cebu City jail. The raid produced a cache of illegal drugs and millions in cash. The "war" produced the most impressive results in the number of drug personalities surrendering: about 600,000. The Human Rights Commission wants the PNP to file "proper" charges against all of them a task that will take decades to complete. As a consequence of the large volume of arrests, we now face even worse congestion in our jails and a massive shortage of rehab facilities for the addicted. Most of our jails contain about double their intended capacities. The rehab facilities have long been short in capacity. One congressman is calling for an inquiry into how the P1 billion annual budgetary outlay for rehab of drug dependents was spent. One conglomerate, the San Miguel Corporation, volunteered P1 billion to help support the rehab effort. The scourge of drugs is so massive we might have to spend billions in the years to come just for rehabilitating the addicted. Some commentators are publicly wondering if it is not more efficient to just shoot them. There is, no doubt, a constituency for that drastic response even if it runs in the face of humanitarian norms. There is basis for the concern the "war" against the drug syndicates caused human rights and due process to be downplayed. Duterte, after all, has long been criticized for using heavy-handed tactics during his tenure as Mayor of Davao. The existence of a "Davao Death Squad" has been alleged for years. Notwithstanding the allegations, Duterte remained popular among his constituents. He won all the elections handily. He was feared but also loved. His Davao experience is likely to encourage the President to keep going in this current "war." This is beginning to resemble the "Davao experiment" writ large. In Duterte's mind, the drug menace is an existential threat to our national community. If this war is not waged with the determination and passion we see, the wellbeing of future generations will be compromised. The entire nation will fall under the grip of narcopolitcs. Already, we have seen dozens of mayors and senior police officers named as drug protectors. The list could become more spectacular when subsequent lists are announced. This is neither a political gamble nor some form of political play for the President. This is a crusade on which, as he himself said, he is willing to lose everything. Some of those opposing this "war" may be accused of making political plays. A number of personalities and groups seem to be desperately searching for some form of leverage to counter Duterte's phenomenal trust ratings. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom