News (Media Awareness Project) - Philippines: Palace: No Sacred Cows In Drugs War |
| Title: | Philippines: Palace: No Sacred Cows In Drugs War |
| Published On: | 2009-01-15 |
| Source: | Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines) |
| Fetched On: | 2009-01-16 18:57:10 |
PALACE: NO SACRED COWS IN DRUGS WAR
MANILA, Philippines-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the country's
new drug czar, has ordered antinarcotics authorities to crack down on
big drug traffickers, including her supporters, Malacanang officials
said Wednesday.
"There will be no sacred cows," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita
said when asked if Ms Arroyo would run after even her political allies
suspected of trafficking.
Ermita said the drive would go all the way. "Anyone who will be
involved, whoever they may be, they will have to account before the
law."
Ms Arroyo on Tuesday declared that she would oversee the anti-drug
campaign and serve as anti-drug czar until the bribery scandal
besetting the Department of Justice (DOJ) is resolved.
DOJ prosecutors have been accused of dismissing charges against three
drug suspects, known as the Alabang Boys, after they allegedly
received P50 million. The prosecutors, who have denied the allegation,
are on leave and are under investigation.
Ermita said notorious drug rings on the order of battle of the
Dangerous Drugs Board and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
(PDEA) would be targeted in the all-out war against
trafficking.
Get big-name traffickers
Ms Arroyo expected the "big-name traffickers" to be immediately
identified in the fresh campaign, and "brought before the bar of
justice," he said.
Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco noted that only six of the 32 big drug
syndicates identified by the PDEA had been dismantled as of last year.
Cuenco urged the President to bring down during her stint as the
anti-drug czar the 26 big syndicates on the PDEA list.
"They have been identified but how come they have not been busted up
to now?" asked Cuenco, vice chair of the House committee on dangerous
drugs.
He also urged Ms Arroyo to beef up its prosecution of drug cases in
view of its poor batting average in convicting drug traffickers and
pushers over the past 10 years.
On Tuesday, Ms Arroyo also ordered the implementation of a raft of
measures, including random drug tests on high school and college
students, to curb drug abuse and trafficking across the country.
"Definitely that (major victories) is the target of our drug
enforcement agencies, and with the President at the helm of the drive,
you can be sure that we better have some victories," Ermita told reporters.
"Otherwise this problem will linger on, and it's to the detriment of
society," he said.
Semblance of permanence
An anticrime watchdog said Ms Arroyo must give her new role a
"semblance of permanence" to efficiently get to the bottom of the
illegal drug problem in the country.
"The case of the Alabang Boys must not be the basis of the President's
timetable in assuming the post. It is just the tip of the iceberg so
she must hold on to her new role for a longer period of time," said
Dante Jimenez, chair of the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption
(VACC).
The VACC is set to pitch this idea to Malacanang in a position paper
on Thursday. The decision to submit a recommendation to Ms Arroyo was
arrived at a board meeting Wednesday.
The group expects its position to be opposed by various groups and
personalities as the elections are just around the corner. "As we all
know, illegal drugs are among the best sources of election money,"
Jimenez said.
He noted that 80 percent of the heinous crimes in the country were
drug-related.
Unimpressed
Others are not impressed by the President naming herself anti-drug
czar.
"It's bad if she will be unable to curb the problem of illegal drugs
in the country. She might even be tagged as a recipient of bribes,"
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said.
Pimentel said Ms Arroyo should instead give the job to PDEA Director
General Dionisio Santiago.
"Santiago has a good reputation and only needs a no-nonsense backing
by the President. I think he will be able to do a good job," he said.
No wonder woman
By naming herself as anti-drug czar, the President has turned into
"micro-managing," said opposition Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero.
"That is not good for somebody who is supposed to run the government.
She's no wonder woman who could do everything," the senator said in
Tacloban City on his way to various towns in the provinces of Samar
and Leyte.
Escudero said similar moves in the past did not lead to results.
"There is no such thing as a drug czar in our administrative code.
That is only a title and not a position," he said.
He said that every time the country faced a big problem, the President
would name a czar. Ms Arroyo earlier named Agriculture Secretary
Arthur Yap as rice czar at the height of the rice crisis and Energy
Secretary Angelo Reyes as energy czar when the country was suffering
from high fuel prices.
Escudero also warned of more delays in the investigation of the
Alabang Boys' case. "Most agencies in government won't move without
her imprimatur," he said.
Only 24 convictions
In the House of Representatives, Ilocos Norte Rep. Roquito Ablan,
chair of the committee on dangerous drugs, pointed out that the
government had only made 24 convictions out of the thousands of drug
cases filed as far back as 1998.
In his report to the President, Dangerous Drugs Board Chair Vicente
"Tito" Sotto III blamed the anti-drug war's abysmal performance on the
"nonappearance of prosecution witnesses, insufficiency of evidence,
irregularity or illegality of arrest, search and seizure, and
inconsistencies in testimony."
Jefferson Soriano Ablan, commander of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special
Operations Task Force, wrote the House committee about the "seeming
unabated dismissal of illegal drug cases especially those of
high-valued targets and high profile personalities even at the
prosecution level."
Legislative reforms
Representative Ablan said the committee would come up with legislative
reforms aimed at strengthening the tools of the drug war and at
reconciling the prosecution and enforcement side of the campaign.
The committee members suggested bigger budget allocations for the PDEA
and police agents, setting up of an independent prosecution arm for
drug cases, and using latest technology such as surveillance cameras
to beef up cases against drug pushers and traffickers caught in the
drug busts.
The committee would also consider the President's proposal to conduct
random drug tests in schools.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga suggested that Congress members undergo
the same tests to set an example among public officials.
"How can we have an effective investigation of drug cases and
legislate laws meant to address the drug menace if the public will
perceive some of us as drug users?" asked Barzaga.
Ablan and Cuenco shot down the proposal.
- - With reports from Christine O. Avendano and Jocelyn R. Uy in Manila,
and Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas
MANILA, Philippines-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the country's
new drug czar, has ordered antinarcotics authorities to crack down on
big drug traffickers, including her supporters, Malacanang officials
said Wednesday.
"There will be no sacred cows," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita
said when asked if Ms Arroyo would run after even her political allies
suspected of trafficking.
Ermita said the drive would go all the way. "Anyone who will be
involved, whoever they may be, they will have to account before the
law."
Ms Arroyo on Tuesday declared that she would oversee the anti-drug
campaign and serve as anti-drug czar until the bribery scandal
besetting the Department of Justice (DOJ) is resolved.
DOJ prosecutors have been accused of dismissing charges against three
drug suspects, known as the Alabang Boys, after they allegedly
received P50 million. The prosecutors, who have denied the allegation,
are on leave and are under investigation.
Ermita said notorious drug rings on the order of battle of the
Dangerous Drugs Board and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
(PDEA) would be targeted in the all-out war against
trafficking.
Get big-name traffickers
Ms Arroyo expected the "big-name traffickers" to be immediately
identified in the fresh campaign, and "brought before the bar of
justice," he said.
Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco noted that only six of the 32 big drug
syndicates identified by the PDEA had been dismantled as of last year.
Cuenco urged the President to bring down during her stint as the
anti-drug czar the 26 big syndicates on the PDEA list.
"They have been identified but how come they have not been busted up
to now?" asked Cuenco, vice chair of the House committee on dangerous
drugs.
He also urged Ms Arroyo to beef up its prosecution of drug cases in
view of its poor batting average in convicting drug traffickers and
pushers over the past 10 years.
On Tuesday, Ms Arroyo also ordered the implementation of a raft of
measures, including random drug tests on high school and college
students, to curb drug abuse and trafficking across the country.
"Definitely that (major victories) is the target of our drug
enforcement agencies, and with the President at the helm of the drive,
you can be sure that we better have some victories," Ermita told reporters.
"Otherwise this problem will linger on, and it's to the detriment of
society," he said.
Semblance of permanence
An anticrime watchdog said Ms Arroyo must give her new role a
"semblance of permanence" to efficiently get to the bottom of the
illegal drug problem in the country.
"The case of the Alabang Boys must not be the basis of the President's
timetable in assuming the post. It is just the tip of the iceberg so
she must hold on to her new role for a longer period of time," said
Dante Jimenez, chair of the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption
(VACC).
The VACC is set to pitch this idea to Malacanang in a position paper
on Thursday. The decision to submit a recommendation to Ms Arroyo was
arrived at a board meeting Wednesday.
The group expects its position to be opposed by various groups and
personalities as the elections are just around the corner. "As we all
know, illegal drugs are among the best sources of election money,"
Jimenez said.
He noted that 80 percent of the heinous crimes in the country were
drug-related.
Unimpressed
Others are not impressed by the President naming herself anti-drug
czar.
"It's bad if she will be unable to curb the problem of illegal drugs
in the country. She might even be tagged as a recipient of bribes,"
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said.
Pimentel said Ms Arroyo should instead give the job to PDEA Director
General Dionisio Santiago.
"Santiago has a good reputation and only needs a no-nonsense backing
by the President. I think he will be able to do a good job," he said.
No wonder woman
By naming herself as anti-drug czar, the President has turned into
"micro-managing," said opposition Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero.
"That is not good for somebody who is supposed to run the government.
She's no wonder woman who could do everything," the senator said in
Tacloban City on his way to various towns in the provinces of Samar
and Leyte.
Escudero said similar moves in the past did not lead to results.
"There is no such thing as a drug czar in our administrative code.
That is only a title and not a position," he said.
He said that every time the country faced a big problem, the President
would name a czar. Ms Arroyo earlier named Agriculture Secretary
Arthur Yap as rice czar at the height of the rice crisis and Energy
Secretary Angelo Reyes as energy czar when the country was suffering
from high fuel prices.
Escudero also warned of more delays in the investigation of the
Alabang Boys' case. "Most agencies in government won't move without
her imprimatur," he said.
Only 24 convictions
In the House of Representatives, Ilocos Norte Rep. Roquito Ablan,
chair of the committee on dangerous drugs, pointed out that the
government had only made 24 convictions out of the thousands of drug
cases filed as far back as 1998.
In his report to the President, Dangerous Drugs Board Chair Vicente
"Tito" Sotto III blamed the anti-drug war's abysmal performance on the
"nonappearance of prosecution witnesses, insufficiency of evidence,
irregularity or illegality of arrest, search and seizure, and
inconsistencies in testimony."
Jefferson Soriano Ablan, commander of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special
Operations Task Force, wrote the House committee about the "seeming
unabated dismissal of illegal drug cases especially those of
high-valued targets and high profile personalities even at the
prosecution level."
Legislative reforms
Representative Ablan said the committee would come up with legislative
reforms aimed at strengthening the tools of the drug war and at
reconciling the prosecution and enforcement side of the campaign.
The committee members suggested bigger budget allocations for the PDEA
and police agents, setting up of an independent prosecution arm for
drug cases, and using latest technology such as surveillance cameras
to beef up cases against drug pushers and traffickers caught in the
drug busts.
The committee would also consider the President's proposal to conduct
random drug tests in schools.
Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga suggested that Congress members undergo
the same tests to set an example among public officials.
"How can we have an effective investigation of drug cases and
legislate laws meant to address the drug menace if the public will
perceive some of us as drug users?" asked Barzaga.
Ablan and Cuenco shot down the proposal.
- - With reports from Christine O. Avendano and Jocelyn R. Uy in Manila,
and Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas
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