Brothers and sisters, amid the incessant favor of many Filipinos in the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, much like what is said among surveys, anyone who criticize this so called centerpiece program of the government will surely receive some form of backlash.
Such as the criticisms received by Vice President Leni Robredo after the recent news where she said that the “war on drugs” must be stopped because it was a failure. VP Leni cleared this out, saying she was misquoted. She claims that the administration should review its strategy in eradicating our problem against illegal drugs. The administration must observe if it’s way of stopping the spread of drugs is appropriate, and if not, there are things that must be changed and fixed. As our Vice President explains, if the administration started with a data of 1.4 million drug users in our country and it inflated from 7 million to 8 million, while the war on drugs proceeds, there seems to be a problem. Why is it that until now, the supply of drugs in the country hasn’t been stopped?
It seemed that VP Leni’s statement struck a fuse in the administration. President Duterte said that he is prepared to submit his executive power to VP Leni, and challenged her to resolve the problem within six months. But like the other controversial statements by the President, his challenge to VP Leni is not seemingly serious. In the constitution, only the President may declare control among the police and military; the Vice President, in truth, does not have any mandate other than serving as a replacement for the President in case he passes away, become permanently disabled, dethroned of his position, or relieve himself of it.
The more important question raised by VP Leni’s observation is if the administration’s process in addressing our problem with illegal drugs is truly appropriate. Based on the results of a survey of the Social Weather Stations, or SWS, eight out of 10 Filipinos (82 percent) say they are satisfied with the war on drugs because of their belief that it reduced criminal incidents and drug use in the country. This also reflects the latest survey of the SWS wherein the number of families saying they are victims of crime like robberies has been reduced; from 7 percent last June, it went down to 5.6 percent in September.
However, like what VP Leni said we cannot be recognized as a nation because despite our interests in making a peaceful environment, thousands of lives, particularly the poor, are at stake. Not to mention the almost 6,000 people killed in police operations. Included are the widowed and orphaned children.
One principle in the social teachings of the Church is the “common good.” These teachings state that in order for everyone to have a better way of life, no one must be neglected. Everyone must benefit. There are many instances in the life of Jesus where He taught common good. When he said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these,” (Mark 12:30-31), common good is what He taught. When He said, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” (Matthew 25:40), He reminds us to take action for the common good.
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