GOVERNMENT TO TAP BARANGAYS IN WAR VS ILLEGAL DRUGS

The government will soon tap the services of the country's over 43,000
barangays in the war against illegal drug trafficking, according to
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary
Alfredo Lim.

"I always believe that the issue of drug abuse could be best tackled
on the barangay level, and we should take advantage of the
personalistic culture and the value of "hiya" (shame) to win the war
against this social evil," Lim said, as he assured the business
community that the peace and order situation in the country is
generally stable and conducive to economic investments.

He said the government, particularly the DILG, shall do everything to
fulfill its mandate of promoting peace and order, ensure public safety
and develop and strengthen the capabilities of local government units
toward achieving President Estrada's vision of a "crime-free"
Philippines.

Lim, however, urged the business community "to work hand-in-hand with
government toward achieving soonest a peaceful climate for the country
to enable foreign and local investors to help pump prime the economy
and provide more employment opportunities for our countrymen."

Lim said the problem of illegal drugs is a crisis that has cut across
all social, economic and professional barriers showing no respect for
wealth, education, power or position due mainly to good old-fashioned
greed being an industry which nets in billions, all tax free, to line
the pockets of those who engage in it. And with their ill-gotten
gains, they can bribe law enforcers, prosecutors and even judges,
among others.

He said the drug problem, largely characterized as a social aberration
in the '60s and 9270s with only 20,000 users, has grown geometrically
to a P250-billion enterprise, so widespread that it has in its grip
more than 1.7 million Filipinos, infiltrating over 20 percent or
almost 7,000 of the country's 43,000 barangays.

Lim said that as DILG secretary, his first priority was to give more
teeth to the anti-illegal drugs campaign by reviving the "spray-paint
drive" covered by a Manila City ordinance, activation and organization
of drug abuse councils in the provinces, cities, municipalities and
barangays nationwide, conduct of anti-illegal drugs forum among LGUs,
the police, lawyers, non-government organizations, and the youth to
formulate more effective measures to combat the malaise.

He said all these activities are continuing, and the network of
barangays in tandem with the Philippine National Police (PNP), local
government units, Departments of Health and Education and other
government agencies, could be a potent force in neutralizing all forms
of criminality, particularly the nefarious activities of drug lords.

But even with the barangays, the DILG cannot alone fulfill its
gargantuan task without the support of private sector and the people,
Lim said.

The DILG chief pointed out that fighting crime is not the sole
responsibility of our policemen, saying the fight against crime and
violence, the campaign against illegal drugs and graft and corruption
call for collective action--the attention and involvement of all
sectors of society, both the private sector and the whole community.