Anti-drug drive
THE continued seizure of prohibited substances, including cocaine, in some parts of the country, is proof that the illegal drug problem remains a major headache of the authorities.
This despite former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s all-out and bloody war against the dreaded “drug monster,” which has victimized countless Filipinos across the country.
However, it is certainly heartening to know that the new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. of La Union, is recalibrating the “drug war.”
In his speech during the turnover ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City, General Azurin said he would order the review of the requirements to deploy lawmen on the field.
A member of Class 1989 of the Philippine Military Academy, he noted that compliance rates reported by lower police units were apparently “no longer applicable in some areas.”
The new PNP chief boomed during last Wednesday’s turnover ceremony that “our war on drugs shall be relentlessly continued – regardless of who gets hurt and who gets caught.
But some quarters want government authorities, through concerned offices and agencies, to also focus on rehabilitating drug dependents, particularly the youngsters.
Certainly, the nationwide war on illegal drugs, including marijuana, can gain some meaning if we succeed in transforming drug users into highly-productive citizens anew.
That’s why there is really that urgent need to establish more drug rehabilitation centers not only in urban centers but throughout this poverty-stricken nation.
This proposal, in the view of many, must be considered quickly by the government.
