Ongoing Congressional Investigation On Drugs
I would like to share with you my pleasure that the House of Representatives is vigorously hearing the "alabang boys case". To my knowledge this is the first instance of such a well covered legislative investigation on the drugs enforcement problem. I have long worried that our country was becoming an Asian equivalent of Colombia, where the drugs Mafia overpowered the police and justice system, supported by bought politicians.It is an open secret that drugs and gambling overlords are major supporters of election campaigns, at levels ranging from barangay to national politics. The larger the need for campaign funds, the more vulnerable the candidate. This investigation has raised my esteem for the House of Representatives several notches. I hope, but doubt, the Senate would follow suit.
Comments (19) 
Who's Online
We have 10 guests onlineSubscribe to Site Updates
Join the FSGO news mailing list.
Let your voice be heard!
5%
9440
And by good example, not just ascertaining that he and his family will be clean, but use that public morality to insist that everyone else down the line will be of the same character. Once the president and his cabinet are serious about non-involvement in corruption, and the rest of the bureaucracy realizes that they will get punished swiftly if they persist, then public administrationists like you will find it easier to teach norms, because there would be congruence in praxis.
Am I such a dreamer?
No. I know someone who can do it.
By the way, the PNP is a civilian force, so's the NBI, the BOC, BIR, BI, COA, DOJ, etc. So's the media, most in the legal profession and our elected and appointed officials. Are they to be trusted more than the guys in PDEA who are striving for accomplishments? There are no easy answers to our predicament given the state of public governance.
this conversation is becoming more and more interesting. the issue is becoming broader and more complex. the variety of responses has led to the question of whether military personnel should be mobilized for anti-drug campaigns.
if my recollection is right, it started because of a suggestion that Major Ferdinand Marcelino should be praised for exposing attempts to bribe him. i agree that there are many dimensions to the subject but i would like to focus on whether he is deserving or not.
my own reaction to Marcelino is from the point of view of a teacher and social activist. i have written somewhere that public administration is perhaps the most difficult subject to teach. this is not because it is like physics, chemistry, engineering or even medicine. this is because the reality of governance is always different from the norms and theories which we exhausted professors try to teach. teaching accountability is confoundedly difficult because there are so few examples.
it is the same with my involvement in civil society organizations. most of what we see is inefficiency, waste, corruption and cynicism.
i suspect many sectors of our society feel the same way. we are desperately looking for concrete examples of honesty in government in a sea of thievery. less and less young people want to join government, including those who take up public administration.
we say that marcelino comes from a branch of government that is tainted. but which branch of government is not tainted--the civilian branch? if we don't trust marcelino, should we replace him with the prosecutors in DOJ? or with the private lawyer who drafts government decisions and thinks nothing of it?
i notice that corruption in the military is associated not with middle level officers like marcelino but with those who have wormed their way to the top. this is why it is the middle level officers who resort to extra-constitutional action out of frustration.
we were discussing the pdea issue in my graduate class of 31 students. most of them are in their twenties but already occupy supervisory and technical positions in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. some of them are already very cynical. one of them resigned from a lucrative position in a government corporation because he was being pressured to certify to a corporate meeting which never took place.
you can easily guess who they believed was telling the truth. one of them told a story about the bribe attempt on marcelino when he was in mindanao during the 2004 elections.
every class session is a challenging task to build hope. hope that it is possible to be honest in government. that one should be courageous and take risks. but we need to cite real people. for me, it does not matter whether a public servant is in the military, the commission on audit, congress, senate or in the supreme court. if he or she brings honesty his or her work, he or she deserves to be praised.
as for the big policy issue, we can continue conversing. i am only a tired old teacher.
Let me share what's going on in my neck of the woods.
There has been collusion between some military and PNP officials and drug lords for decades now. According to my sources, during Erap's time, Jude used to take the military chopper to attend the parties of one of the most "popular" narco-politicians in ARMM. Of course,no one will swear to this but everyone talks about it. Thus, both services are tarnished in our eyes.
However, I agree with Mario. The military is everywhere. Should they be? I am part of the strategic studies group of the NDCP. In our discussions, many of the retired generals who are part of the SSG are critical of the military performing what should be civilian duties. Tama sila. If we keep using them for all civilian functions, how can the civilian institution ever reform or improve itself?
While I believe that we should recognize exemplary service, we should be careful that we do not endorse additional duties for the military.
Let me pose for you the possibility of alternative hypotheses. Hypothesis A is that rent from the anti-drug effort is being captured by the judicial system from prosecutor to judge. Hypotheses B is that PDEA wants to capture this rent for itself. Hypotheses C has already been proven, which is the anti-drug units of the PNP used to capture the rents in the anti-drug campaign. In short, much as we would like to believe that this investigation is between angels and devils and we want to weigh in on the side of angels, the reality may not be so simple and clear.
Frankly, I do not know what to believe in this controversy but it is fascinating as drama.
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.
I believe that Hypothesis B does not apply in this case although, of course, it is entirely possible that some in that network could think differently and may just waiting be for their moment for rent-seeking. But then again we all know that government is heavily infiltrated by all kinds of crime syndicates, including plunderous criminals in white collars. We are engaged in assymetrical warfare where the "enemy" is all around us and within our midst. There are no dividing lines. If General Santiago's judgement call is to rely on a Marine to do the dirty job, then that authoritative decision should be respected for now on the assumption that Gen Santiago is a no-nonsense upright public manager. General Santiago and Major Marcelino are standing their ground against formidable odds, including public cynicism, which is why people like them need to be encouraged and morally supported. Otherwise, he and the few who do will simply give up and say "what's the use?"
For now, I would like to think that they're safeguarding the nation with the purest of intentions and, thus, have my vote of confidence. Of course, if they turn out to be moral and legal duds then they, too, will incur the people's righteous indignation.
If akin to a highway, criminals with the aid of top-notch lawyers and pr agents with extensive tentacles in tri-media, are able to go scot -free either at the law enforcement stage, investigation stage, prosecution stage, court hearing stage, sentencing stage or penal stage. All it takes is money to buy the best legal experts, and if the price is right for the gatekeepers in the justice system, the criminals take a walk. Cesar, who preceded me, I'm sure can attest to this.
In the on-going Congressional investigation of the Alabang Boys caper, my instincts tell me that PDEA is on the right side of the tracks and its work is being obstructed by paid hacks. It's based on the many controversies that I came to know first hand in the past which were, in reality, contrived either by the men in uniform or, if they were doing their job, by others who, sadly, were supposed to be on the same side of the law.
If the preponderance of facts indicate that PDEA is indeed doing its job honorably, FSGO may want to consider issuing a statement supporting our gatekeepers who take a courageous stand against criminality and corruption, despite the risk to their lives, families and reputations, to make our country a safer and more secure place. The drug menace is a direct threat to our national wellbeing and corrupts our young long before they take positions of responsibility.
I've always taken a hard position against drug suppliers, their accomplices and accessories in the corridors of power, the criminal justice system, the legal profession and the media. Because they undermine the national interest, they deserve no mercy.
His unswerving commitment to serve the nation, now through enforcement of the law for the protection of our people against drug peddlers, stands out starkly in this corrupt regime. He should be supported by all law abiding citizens, certainly by FSGO.
He deserves to be extolled by our columnists colleagues, if possible all, coupled with strong FSGO statement* in support of his leadership of PDEA.
The subject area is of major and national significance. The judiciary system is again at stake.
THe PDEA officials must feel they have our support and we commend them for their courage., specially Major Marcelino!
counter the pressure of the powers that be.
Suggest FSGO and BBC come out with statements of support asap.