Bringing More Harm than Good- on the Presidents War against

Drugs

Even from before, there has always been reports of deaths in the news but we

cannot deny that in the recent days, theres been an increase to these reports, and most

often, the cases are that of which theyve been shot by vigilantes (usually riding-in-

tandems) or the police saying that theyve resisted arrest. There is enough evidence

that this phenomenon is directly related to the presidents order to shoot to kill alleged

drug users and we are convinced that this all-out war against drugs has brought more

harm than good.

This war on drugs was implemented not very surprisingly as the president was

very vocal about his steadfast decision to eradicate the drug industry in the Philippines.

This is very evident with his statement during his thanksgiving party in Davao after his

win. He said Pag nandiyan ka pa sa droga, ipapapatay kita. Don't take this as a joke.

Hindi ako nagpapatawa. Putangina, papatayin talaga kita" (If you are still involved in the

drug trade, I'll have you killed. Don't take this as a joke. I'm not trying to earn laughs.

Son of a bitch, I'll really kill you.) With his reputation in Davao, it is not surprising that

many drug users put on weight on his word and surrendered themselves, around

700,00 of them. Peewee, a 35-year-old who suffered from drug addiction said that

through 'yung war against drugs, siguro tinulungan ko na rin 'yung sarili ko na

makipaglaban sa pita ng laman" (through the war against drugs, I think I helped myself

in fighting the desires of the flesh.) after admitting himself in a Drug Rehabilitation

facility in Nueva Ecija. Also, after the launching of the war against drugs, an article

published by The Philippine Star on August 14, 2016 said that the average monthly
crime rate hit went down by 11.51 percent to 49.15, from 55.54 percent in the previous

year and because of the decrease in the crime rate, 82 percent of Metro Manila

residents feel safer according to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) citing a

survey conducted by Pulse Asia.

The war on drugs has reduced the monthly crime rate but with this came a price.

It has cost innocent lives, even the lives of children that President Rodrigo Duterte has

called collateral damage in an interview. According to a senior reporter, Ador Mayol

from Inquirer, A group of human-rights lawyers in Central Visayas has joined calls for

President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the governments bloody war on drugs and to create

an independent commission to look into the spate of drug-related killings in the country.

Theyve stated that the executions are labelled barbaric, unconstitutional, and very un-

christian.According to ABS-CBN news, people who have been killed due to drug-

related cases have increased since July 2016. Due to the launching of the war against

drugs in July 1, 2016 there has been a total number of 7, 080 people who have been

killed. On the 31st of January 2017 it is reported that 2, 555 suspected drug users killed

during police procedures and on October 23, 2016 2,766 unexplained killings alongside

2,153 other under investigation. With the order of President Rodrigo Duterte, he gave

the police license to kill for the said operation in cases of an encounter. Because of this,

there has been 3,603 number of death cases under investigation and 922 cases

wherein investigations has been concluded on January 9, 2017 according to the revised

PNP data. Even the President himself admitted that the number of innocent people

being killed were just Collateral damage that is inevitable if he were to eradicate the

drug industry in the Philippines. PNP Chief Ronald de la Rosa said that the drug
perosonalities are killing each other after a drug user surrendered himself when he

heard that he was a target for liquidation under the orders of a drug lord. Many things

wouldve been different if we thought of drug addiction as a mental illness. According to

the National Institute on Drug Abuse, people who suffer from mental illnesses are more

likely to use drugs, these illnesses include anxiety and depression. If this were the case,

more people wouldve been admitted to drug rehabilitation centers instead of morgues.

The Philippines has a mega drug rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija with a 10,00-bed

capacity but only 500 beds are occupied according to Enrique Tayag, the Depatment of

Health spokesperson.

In conclusion, weve looked at the pros and cons of this war on drugs and though

our research, weve strengthened our stand that the increase in the death tolls is directly

related to the Presidents shoot to kill policy and that the war on drugs has brought more

harm than good. Maybe we should start hating the sin and not the sinner and give a

new perspective on this phenomena as a mental illness, then we could cut down on the

drug-induced crimes while preserving lives.