ON TARGET : LOI, JINGGOY SHOULD FIRST LOOK IN THEIR BACKYARD

PAMPANGA Rep. Mikey Arroyo was quoted out of context on the issue of
legalizing marijuana.

During the congressional budget hearing where some officials of the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration (PDEA) were being questioned,
Arroyo said he would support the bill legalizing marijuana if it could be
proven that it had medicinal uses. He stressed that the medical sector
should be consulted on the issue of whether marijuana has a medical use.

In some countries, marijuana is used under strict medical supervision. But
some people leapt at the chance to bash the son of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

Some of these people know that Arroyo was quoted out of context by the
media. All they have to do is go over the minutes of the congressional
hearing, and they'll find that nowhere did he say he was supporting
marijuana's legalization outright.

Some of the people ganging up on Arroyo are the mother and son team of
Senators Loi Ejercito and Jinggoy Estrada. We all know they are driven by
the "hate" motive.

Ms Ejercito said that as a doctor she knows the harmful effects of
marijuana so "Congressman Arroyo cannot justify its legalization."

Jinggoy, for his part, challenged the Pampanga congressman to undergo a
drug test to find if the latter uses drugs.

Before they started pummeling Arroyo in the media, the mother- and-son team
should have looked in their backyard. They will find it full of filth.

Most people have a short memory. They have forgotten that Jude Estrada,
Jinggoy's sibling and Loi's youngest child, was once involved in a
scandalous drug deal.

When Erap was still vice president, Jude reportedly beat up an old woman
named Espanola after the latter failed to remit drug money to the son of
the vice president.

It was a big scandal at that time. The story died down after Jude was sent
to the United States where he studied to be a helicopter pilot. When Jude
came back from the United States, Erap was already in power so Jude was
made a captain in the Air Force.

Even during Erap's time as president, Jude didn't turn over a new leaf. He
was reported to be holding shabu sessions with some friends.

Jinggoy should have held his horses on his proposal to have Arroyo undergo
drug test to find out if he is a drug user.

When he was San Juan mayor and his father was in power, Jinggoy applied for
a firearm license. One of the requirements was for the applicant to undergo
a drug test. But Jinggoy refused to have one.

When the chief of the Firearms and Explosives Office told him that it was a
requirement and that nobody was exempted from it, Jinggoy blew his top. He
threatened to have the FEO chief removed.

If Jinggoy didn't have anything to hide, he would have readily consented to
a drug test. And it would have been a big issue in his favor.

The media would have come out with the news that despite his being the son
of President Erap, he underwent a drug test for a firearm license. And
everybody would have shouted "Hallelujah!" for him.