EYES THAT DO NOT SEE

My Viewpoint

If we are to believe those local government officials and policemen
who were caught with their pants down by the recent raid on a shabu
"supermarket" or flea market" (tiangge), they knew absolutely nothing
about a hyperactive drug den which had been operating under their
noses for over two years.

Of 319 persons arrested, about 200 will reportedly be charged,
including 14 minors. Children aged 7 and below, and a 4-month old
infant, were among those bagged, many accompanying parents who were
users of the drug, the "poor man's cocaine."

Apparently, about 25 policemen and 6 agents of the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency have been "sacked." It's not clear whether the
sacking means the clearly clueless law enforcers have merely been
transferred elsewhere, whereat they can further perpetrate their
incorrigible cluelessness and rank incompetence, or whether they will
face administrative and criminal charges of some kind.

Although the Pasig chief of police was among those sacked or relieved,
it's not known too whether that is as far as the sanctions on him will
go. Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio claims that he was totally in the
dark about the existence of the shabu tiangge. Curiously, the compound
with the drug den within was located near City Hall itself. Hundreds
of people and young kids seem to have patronized it every single day
for more than two years. Flashy cars and big bikes were frequently
seen parked in the area, proving, I suppose, that the "poor man's
cocaine" is an equal opportunity drug. All these circumstances were
apparently insufficient to rouse suspicions or cause the Mayor or
anyone else in his office to ask a few simple and pertinent questions.

The Pasig City Mayor has, since this embarrassing story came out in
screaming headlines and TV newscasts, been on a veritable rampage,
scolding barangay captains before television cameras and leading the
demolition of shanties and booths within the shabu tiangge. Should we
be impressed with this swashbuckling Mayor? Hardly. Should he be
investigated for gross negligence and dereliction of duty, if not
complicity in this obviously flourishing drug trade in the City he has
led for so long? Of course he should!

In fairness to Mayor Eusebio, he has indicated his willingness to be
investigated by the Department of Interior and Local Government. He
has also assured the public he will abide by the results of that
inquiry and take whatever punishment is imposed on him. That's pretty
big of him, but if we had our druthers, we would have preferred that
Pasig be known as a drug-free city, that the Mayor and the Chief of
Police had a no-nonsense, anti-drug campaign that bowed to no one.

Instead, it appears that finger-pointing is the name of the game. LGU
officials say the police were informed about it long ago. The police
insist that they had conducted several raids in the area which
resulted in numerous arrests. However, the culprits simply posted bail
and then quietly returned to the drug trade. Whoever is right, the
fact is that, at the end of the day, there was a thriving market for
illegal drugs a few hundred meters away from the Pasig City Hall and
police headquarters.

Thus, the suspicions that city government and police officials might
have been paid to look the other way, or might have shared in the
revenues of the illegal drug trade, are not unreasonable. It won't be
the first time that crooked government officials turn out to be in the
pockets of drug lords.

The raid on the Pasig drug tiangge is significant for more reasons
than just the possible culpability of LGU officials and policemen. It
also illustrates graphically why the drug menace is so difficult to
eradicate. The combination of a ready market, plentiful supply and
uncaring officials and law enforcers is a guarantee that the illegal
activity will not only survive, it will thrive. And as it thrives, it
strengthens the infrastructure and obtains the resources to corrupt
even more thoroughly the officials who are responsible for eradicating
it.

Is Pasig a unique case, or are there other examples of lax enforcement
and overly cooperative local officials? There are those, of course,
who are convinced that Pasig must be the most visible, recent case,
but that there are many others. The evidence may be anecdotal, as is
the basis for the rumor that drugs are easily obtainable in this
country. However, the prevalence and persistence of the illegal drug
problem may be more telling.

I haven't checked the statistics lately - and I fully intend to - but
the conventional wisdom is that although progress has been made in
shutting down shabu factories run by illegal entrants into the country
from China, and in catching pushers and dealers, drug suppliers and
dealers are like rats and cockroaches. The more you exterminate, the
more they materialize.

Moreover, it appears that the number of users of illegal substances is
increasing, even if, allegedly, at a declining rate. The tragedy is
that more youth seem to be getting hooked and, as noted above, shabu
is the drug of choice even, or especially, in economically depressed
areas.

Pasig may not be the worst case. In media you keep hearing about
places in Metro Manila where the trade is allegedly going great guns
and, worse, is virtually impregnable to law enforcers. In any case,
Pasig is in the hot seat these days and should not be let off the hook
until all the facts are unraveled and publicly disclosed.

One issue is whether blissful ignorance is an appropriate policy where
the war against drugs is concerned. I would hope, on the other hand,
that deliberate and gross neglect of duty is still punishable under
the law, and that the law is applied without regard to political
affiliation. Where illegal drugs are concerned, there is no middle
ground, there are no half-measures.

Let the axe fall where it will. Throw the book at all those who play
footsies with drug lords, be they local government officials,
uniformed cops or PDEA agents. Psychological counseling for victims is
necessary but first, there must be respect for the law. Both
lawbreakers and those who are supposed to uphold the law must be
taught this respect, and learn hard lessons in the consequences of
disrespect.

Talk is cheap. The government has to overcome a serious credibility
problem. It has to convince people all over again that it means business.