A CHANGE IN STRATEGIES

The claim of an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government
that there are now an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos who are hooked on
drugs is a very alarming one.

While in Bacolod Thursday, Undersecretary Wencelito Andanar of the DILG
made that disclosure to local media and to a gathering of women's groups
from all over the country. He also told them that the Philippine National
Police claims that, of the heinous crimes committed in the country, as much
as seventy percent can be blamed on the use of illegal drugs.

The figure of 2.2 million, Andanar said, is an increase over the 1.7
million last year. This is further disturbing because it indicates that all
the drives, the strategies, the commities and task forces, the educational
and information campaigns being waged by the various agencies in charge do
not seem to have made any inroads in their attempts to stop, or even just
control the use of prohibited and illegal drugs in the country.

Within the past months, we have been hearing a lot of reports about charges
and fingerpointing to people in high places suspected of being coddlers or
actual participants in the drug trade in the country. And yet, despite all
the investigations, the hearings, the sensational testimonies and
accusations, we have not heard of any big ones being really pinpointed and
charged in court for the crime.

In the meantime, local police groups stage raids and buy-bust operations
now and then, arresting some penny ante operators and making a big fuss in
the media over them. More often than not, that is all that happens, and if
any persistent media man bothers to follow up later, he or she is likely to
find out that the cases had been dismissed even before they actually got
filed because of some lapse in the process of arresting, or the common
reason of "insufficiency of evidence."

Of course there has been an attempt to scare pushers and users by reducing
the amounts of prohibited drugs that would merit the supreme penalty. But
apparently even this has not succeeded in putting the fear of God into the
hearts of the illegal operators. To them, the profits are still worth the
risk, with lots more to spare for the hiring of topnotch lawyers and other
means to keep them out of jail.

The DILG official also called on the community to do its share in the
campaign against this menace. Undoubtedly many are willing to do this, but
government must teach them, and show them how because this is something
that can't be played by ear, the risks being too great.