5TH IN THE WORLD

Here is another dubious distinction for the Philippines: from 1998
to 2007, the country ranked fifth in the world in the amount of
shabu confiscated, according to the United Nations Office on Drug
and Crime. The UNODC, in its 2009 World Drug Report, noted that
in this area, the Philippines ranked only behind China and the
United States, which have considerably larger populations, and
Thailand and Taiwan.

The positive point here is that shabu, or methamphetamine
hydrochloride, is being seized by authorities. But this does not
dispel the fact that shabu is being manufactured in large quantities
in this country, which has become a major shabu exporter and
transshipment point for the international drug trafficking industry.
The UNODC report noted that Philippine-made shabu is shipped to
Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. "Manufacture often occurs
in industrial-sized laboratories operated by transnational organized
crime with most chemists being foreign nationals," the report said.

Anti-narcotics units conduct regular raids on such laboratories
nationwide. So why does the illegal industry continue to flourish?
Shabu trafficking is hugely profitable, and manufacturers have the
means to buy protection from law enforcement agencies. How many of
the actual operators of shabu laboratories have been arrested in
raids? Only janitors and security guards are the ones usually caught,
indicating that the operators are tipped off by their protectors.

The rare times that drug dealers themselves are arrested and
prosecuted, they can buy their freedom through corrupt jail guards,
prosecutors, judges and immigration officers. Their release is also
facilitated by the technical lapses committed by anti-narcotics
agents who are poorly trained in conducting legitimate raids,
searches, seizures and arrests. Such lapses can be used as a valid
excuse for the dismissal of cases by corrupt prosecutors or judges.

All these problems can be addressed, given the political will and
resources. But these problems have been around for many years, and
the illegal drug trade continues to thrive despite the fact that the
Philippines has some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Fighting
the drug menace takes more than piling up confiscated evidence. More
importantly, drug traffickers must be caught, prosecuted and punished.