Former Senior Government Officials

Let me sum up where I think we may converge on this matter. 1. Narcotics and illegal drug trade has shown its evil power to victimize individuals for life (particularly young people), destroy families and communities trying to rescue or protect their addicted members, corrupt and eventually capture social and political insitutions such as police forces, national agencies, judicial systems, local governments and even whole legislatures and administrations mobilized to fight it. No society can survive, much less prosper, while tolerating rampant spread of illegal drug use. The Philippines must confront and surmount many challenges, and effective control of the illegal drug trade must be one of these challenges. 2. The control of the illegal drug trade can only be achieved by mobilizing all capabilities, institutions and resources shown to be effective in weakening its hold. First, the victimization of individuals and families must be reduced with effective education, rehabilitation, and other social services, the absence of which make young people more likely to use drugs and more likely not to recover when addicted. Second, the profit from the illegal drug trade must be made prohibitive, unrewarding and unlikely to be enjoyed if somehow acquired. Those who profit from the drug trade or its protection must be identifed, isolated and neutralized. Third, society and communities must have reliable and accurate indicators of the presence, prevalence and penetration of illegal drug activity in their midst so that social action is always guided by correct information. 3. A systemic and institutional approach to eliminating the illegal drug trade as a major social problem requires individuals of honesty, integrity, courage and competence to lead our people's social action. No agency or organization has a monopoly of this already scarce commodity in our country at this time. We should recognize and praise individuals with these qualities in exemplary individuals wherever they might be found, whether these are with PNP, PDEA, DOJ or elsewhere. Incorruptible dedication to rooting out the illegal drug trade in our country is a quality we require in all leading forces fighting illegal drugs. But we should not make its apparent presence in persons from some institutions and its apparent absence in people from other organizations a reason to strengthen the power of those agencies thought to be trustworthy and weaken the authority of thiose thought less so. Such an aproach will only direct and focus the attention and resources of the illegal drug trade towards eventually corrupting those organizations made legally powerful because of earning the momentary trust of the public. 4. We should support and encourage the social process of exposing, discussing, and making sense of the illegal drug problem of our country that is being sparked by the House investigation on this matter. We should encourage other people, groups and institutions to weigh in on the matter before our politicians stampede the public into one simplistic solution such as re-imposition of the death penalty for drug dealers or considering short cuts in our due process and human rights protections on the pretext of fighting the drug menace. We should use the so-called "Alabang Boys" case as a window for the public to see and understand how the illegal drug trade manifests its malignant evil so that our social action can be better guided by well-infomed understanding of its complexity and persistence. 5. There are no magic bullets or secret weapons or surefire formula against the social evils of illegal drugs. We need a national leadership above political expediency to lead us against this menace already upon all of us through our children and young adults. The GMA administration has not shown itself as capable of such statesman-like leadership essential for effective social action against illegal drugs. We should use the current public debate as a platform for discussing how the opportunity for democratic political renewal in 2010 might offer a chance at more capable and effective action against illegal drugs.