Category: duterte’s drug war

Duterte 2017

Biglang may nagbabasa ng 2017 post na ito. While the ICC confirmation of charges hearings reminded painfully of Duterte’s horrible drug war, this piece zeroes in on a specific point in time, soon after the killing of Kian, when it was all just too heartbreaking, infuriating, and scary, and all we could do was despair for nation. Good to be reminded. #BeforeCovid

Duterte’s drug war & the “hearsay” divide

August 20, 2017

Recently President Duterte admitted na nagkamali siya when he promised to rid the country of shabu in six months, imposible daw pala, even in the next five years, it just cannot be done, he says, by a single president over just one term.

I thought it might mean a CHANGE in strategy, from killing killing killing alleged addicts and pushers without due process to finally policing customs and coastlines and preventing the smuggling of shabu and it’s component chemicals into the country. But no.

He [said] having a long coastline to watch over and thousands of islands to guard make it difficult to prevent the entry of illegal drugs.

“We do not have the equipment, kulang man (It’s not enough). And you know the coastline,” he added.

He made us a new promise instead:

“I assure you, by the time I make my—kung buhay pa ako (if I am still alive)—five years from now, drugs will be at its lowest,” he said.

Too soon Bato’s police were back on the streets big time, in multiple synchronous operations across Bulacan, and later in Manila. Killing alleged addicts and dealers without due process, puro hearsay, mostly info solicited from barangay peeps and neighbors, atbp., as if we didn’t know how easy it is to point fingers, especially if under duress of authorities with quotas to meet. Hearsay, sabi-sabi, is good enough in this environment, and once you’re on that list, it is said, you’re on the list forever, never mind if you’ve been rehabbed or you were clean to begin with at napagdiskitahan lang, which may have been the case with Kian.

In an unusual move, allies of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Senate on Friday condemned the killing of a 17-year-old senior high school student in Caloocan City, with some pushing for a probe into the boy’s death and those of scores of suspects in the past bloody week described as the deadliest since the start of the government’s drug war in July last year.

This is one of the rare instances during which senators who belong to the majority caucus in the Senate have publicly spoken against the killings related to Duterte’s brutal and unrelenting war on drugs.

The policemen who shot to death Kian Loyd Delos Santos on Wednesday night were not only abusive but also “killers and criminals,” according to Sen. Francis Escudero.  “The CCTV footage and eyewitness account clearly show that the boy was killed.”

Five more years? We cannot have five more years of this. It is too painful for the body politic, Mr. President, sir. And it is dangerous: what monsters are we turning our police forces into?  And we the people, do we really want to become desensitized to inhumane treatment by government? Read Yen Makabenta’s It’s not fun waking up in a ‘narco-state.

When Duterte absolves the police of wrongdoing in the drug war, no matter what the abuses, I believe he is crossing a red line in constitutional government. It is dangerous to himself and to his presidency.

It is not explained away by protesting against due process of law and human rights.

The presidential rhetoric is both inflationary and demoralizing.

Believe it or not, the police profession is supposed to exercise intellectual leadership in the criminal justice system. The police must take the lead in the fight against crime and violence.

Not all shabu addicts are bad people who get violent and criminal under the influence and who deserve to be eliminated just like that. And even addicts who do get violent and criminal do not deserve to be killed without due process and rehab options. We are better than this.

But yeah, our world would be a better place without shabu, and it’s weird that the president isn’t trying harder to turn off the supply. The real job is to stop both the manufacture here and the smuggling-in of shabu and its components. The customs shabu fiasco was the perfect opportunity for the president to demonstrate that all his tough talk vs. drugs and corruption is not just talk and empty threats. Instead he chose to prop up and make excuses for Faeldon.

“But Faeldon, I will stand by him. He’s really honest. Kaya lang nalusutan siya because lahat diyan sa Customs, corrupt. My God,” Duterte said on Wednesday in his speech in Malacañang during the celebration of the 19th anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.

“I hope I would not offend any particular person but almost all [are corrupt]. Sila ‘yong magagandang bahay…magaganda ang kotse [They are those who have beautiful houses and beautiful cars] ,” he added.

He hopes he would not offend anyone in particular? I am aghast. Seriously? Ayaw niyang maka-offend ng mga corrupt? Hindi siya nagagalit nang  bongga  sa mga corrupt na ito na tone-tonelada kung magpasok o magpapasok ng shabu?

It’s bad enough that hearsay is acceptable only in cases against the poor and powerless, not in cases against the rich and powerful. What Is worse, when they do have enough evidence and/or search warrants on the rich and powerful, the suspects end up dead. As in, silenced forever.

In the Bureau of Customs naman, a different kind of silencing is going on. In Have we truly become a full-blown narco state? Kit Tatad wonders what Faeldon knows.

…something DU30 may not blithely ignore. Analysts close to this issue, however, believe Faeldon may be in possession of certain sensitive information, which makes it hard for DU30 to get rid of him, unless he volunteers to step down. …Amid the apparent efforts of some quarters to link DU30’s son Paolo, the vice mayor of Davao City, to the dangerous drugs shipment from Xiamen, Faeldon has not said one word clearing him of any suspicion. If Faeldon knows Paolo is not at all involved in any monkey business at the pier, shouldn’t he have come to his defense after the customs broker Mark Taguba mentioned his name, quoting wild rumors, in a congressional hearing? He did not.

…The problem is, a photo has surfaced in the social media showing Paolo in a friendly pose with Kenneth Dong, the alleged middleman in the illegal P6.4 billion drug shipment. And some people are giving undue importance to it. No one is saying the young man has any fascination for any narco king—whether it be Burma’s late opium king Khun Sa, or Colombia’s Pablo Escobar, or Mexico’s Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. But by linking him to Kenneth Dong and the rest of his narco chain, his enemies clearly want to show his guilt by association.

The president himself has minced no words about how much worse the corruption is than he thought, shabu-related corruption in particular.

He [said] that the war on drugs had exposed so many people involved in the business of illegal drugs, it was like pressing “worms out of a can.”

“I didn’t have an idea that there are hundreds of thousands of people already in the drug business. What makes it worse is they are cooperated now by people in government, especially those in elected positions. So, it will be government versus government,” he added.

There’s the rub. Government vs. Government. Big shots vs. big shots. Tila nga napakaraming very-important-people and their networks ang tatamaan. Napakaraming mawawalan ng trabaho (kawawa naman). At magkakaalaman, mabubuking (sa wakas), kung sinosino nga ba sa mga honourable na iyan ang sinasandalan at dinadatungan ng mga drug lord. Sinosino ba sa mga honourable na iyan na nagmamalinis ang mga kalaban pala, mga kaaway pala, ng taong-bayan. Clear lines would finally be drawn, and that would be oh so good for nation.

I’d have thought that a showdown was right up Digong’s alley. I thought he might be the anti-hero hero who would end narco rule and institute systemic changes, set things right, no matter what. Alas, our astig prez seems to be intimidated out of his wits. Too much baggage?

“I have to stop drugs, really stop. And it will stop,” he said in a speech during a tourism event in Davao City Friday night.  “I will kill you if you destroy my country and you start f****** with my children,” he added.

“My children”? Slip of the tongue? Or just another bad joke.

Garma “sings” — good for her, good of her

Read “Garma’s metanoia” by Philstar‘s Tony Lopez.

While mayor of Davao in 1998, Duterte had taken a liking on the beauteous young police officer, then Lieut. Garma, 23, a 1997 graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy, and who was a city police station commander. She would enjoy a rapid rise, from senior officer of the Davao Police, to regional police chief based in Cebu, Central Visayas, where she was accused of her own EJKs, then to a cushy job inside Malacañang’s Office of the President on police matters, and finally to a lucrative early retirement sinecure as general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

… Garma tried to escape the QuadComm dragnet on Aug. 28, 2024 but was stopped at the airport. (Her US visa was cancelled). Initially, she ignored House summons. During previous appearances (Sept. 12 and Sept. 27, 2024), she was a picture of monstrous defiance and contempt, forcing QuadComm to detain her indefinitely.

Suddenly, after “considerable reflection,” a tearful Garma on Friday decided to finally face the music, and tell the truth before the powerful House Quad Committee….

In her three-page 1,372-word affidavit, Garma claimed to have told “everything I personally know about the war on drugs during the former administration” … despite fears they could “significantly endanger my life, the safety of my family, and others close to me.”

Detained in Congress since September 12, having been cited in contempt for lying, Royina Garma decided to come clean a month later. The truth would set her free.

She implicated President Rodrigo “Roa” Duterte as the mastermind behind his horrific regime’s thousands of extrajudicial killings with huge cash rewards liberally doled out, for three purposes: one, for officers who executed the kills; two, to finance the operations, and three, refund operational expenses, while replicating nationwide, the so-called Davao model of EJKs, Death Squads that seemingly solved the southern city’s illegal drugs problem.

The weeks in detention must have had her flashing back, reflecting on her career in the PNP, what she went through to win respect and acceptance in the macho culture of law enforcement, and tracking when it was that things took a turn, and next thing she knew, she had become complicit in a deadly drug war, never mind due process. She may even have wanted to get out, give it all up, perils and perks and all, but really, how could one do that without incurring the ire of the powers-that-be and becoming a target herself.

Truth be told, there is no setting her free. She will continue to be detained and eventually charged for her part in the drug war. Also it looks like the QuadComm isn’t done  grilling her yet; they are convinced that she has yet to tell-all, since it would seem that she was part nga of Digong’s inner circle.

I was watching when she started weeping as she read that affidavit, and when I realized how explosive her revelations were, I was impressed.  I could understand why she broke down, reading that confession — a point of no return — realizing the consequences not just for herself but for everyone she was naming, colleagues and superiors alike. Nakakaiyak naman talaga iyon. 

“…  at least I will be able to contribute if we really want to make this country a better place to live…for our children,” Garma said in response to a query from Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez.  “I think we have to do something para maibalik ‘yung trust sa PNP, magkaroon ng reform sa PNP,” she added.

Brave woman. Now let’s hear it from the men. 

Polvoron highs

If you’re paying attention to the DDS campaign to oust PBBM that’s happening on social media, you would be coming to the conclusion that the DDS camp is seriously thinking People Power: Kung nagawa natin sa ama noong 1986, kaya nating gawin sa anak ngayong 2024. And you just know that the DDS dream is for VP Sara to take over — she should never have slid down to veep, she could would have beaten BBM.

These days ang isyung nangingibabaw na naman vs BBM is that he was known to be a cocaine user — may bagong witness pa na taga-Davao na dating kerida ng isang kabarkada etc. etc. when BBM was in the Senate — and the DDS say that the people are asking for proof that he’s not using any longer, and that long-term use has not negatively affected his mental faculties and decision-making capacities so important in running the country, atbp.

The same sort of questions we asked of PRRD back in the days when he looked sick and stumbling or just plain slow and barely understandable, and he admitted to being on Fentanyl — a potent and highly addictive prescription drug — for severe pains. If memory serves, we also asked for an official medical report to assure us that  he was still up to the demands of running a government, and the Duterte admin completely ignored such questions.

Maybe the DDS peeps and vloggers have forgotten, or maybe they hope we’ve forgotten.

And what if, even if, a credible witness steps up with indubitable proof that the prez continues to use in private, would not the president enjoy immunity from suit?

ANTONIO T. CARPIO : Under Philippine law the President enjoys immunity from suit and cannot be investigated or prosecuted for any criminal offense while he remains in office. https://opinion.inquirer.net/137151/presidential-immunity-from-suit

I imagine that this would be when “People Power” could come in. The question is, would the DDS be able to rouse and mobilize a critical mass to oust the prez nonviolently as in EDSA?

Hard to tell, actually. Magugulat ako, either way.

Sympathy for Remulla’s son

Thought-provoking indeed: “Marcos Jr. and the older Remulla must make a sacrifice. Specifically, Remulla, the father, must resign from his being Justice Secretary. And Marcos Jr. must encourage him to do so.”

By FILOMENO S. STA. ANA III  

The title is meant to provoke. I differ from those who think that the son of the Justice Secretary must be punished for possession of illegal drugs.

My stand: The son deserves humane treatment. In fact, in a kinder world, the son does not deserve harsh judgment and heavy punishment.

But to spare the son from the law’s harshness, the father must make a big sacrifice beyond what he has offered.

I do not deny that this piece is political. But I veer away from partisanship as I declare my sympathy for the devil. (My apologies to the Rolling Stones.)

But before I explain why I have “sympathy for the devil,” let us critically examine the troubles of the Remulla family. How this issue is handled will also have repercussions, for better or for worse, on President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s government.

Illicit drug enforcers arrested Juanito Jose Remulla III, the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, through a “controlled delivery operation.” That is, instead of immediately confiscating the contraband at the port of entry, the operatives allowed the parcel containing 937 grams of high-grade cannabis delivered to the young Remulla. Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, a person convicted of possessing 500 grams or more of marijuana faces the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10,000,000.

But the Philippines is way behind the curve with respect to drug rules and enforcement. We witness an increasing number of countries or societies accepting the use of marijuana and hallucinogens. Cannabis legalization is spreading all over the world. Among countries that have legalized the recreational use of cannabis are Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, South Africa, and neighboring Thailand.

In the US, a growing number of states have made recreational marijuana legal. At the federal level, US President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands convicted of mere possession of marijuana.

Other countries have limited the scope of legalization to medical use or have decriminalized drug use (not just cannabis consumption).

This shift from punitive action to a humane policy is a recognition of the failure of the violent war on drugs. Harm reduction is the emerging framework and strategy.

Indeed, it makes no sense that cannabis use is criminally punished, but the sale of alcohol and tobacco is legal. Yet, the scientific evidence shows that alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than cannabis. (Our society should then be understanding towards the younger Remulla and sterner towards politicians who peddle tobacco and alcohol.)

Prohibition, as economic history has demonstrated, is costly and damaging to society. A “war on drugs” is less effective in curbing consumption, for this merely drives users underground. Worse, it abets corruption and violence (including extra-judicial killings especially during the time of Rodrigo Duterte).

Strong regulation — by distinguishing between hard and soft drugs and using a variety of tools to discourage consumption and apply harm-reduction strategies — is more effective to address substance abuse.

As pointed out by a Time article (Aug. 1, 2018), “Want to win the war on drugs? Portugal might have the answer.” What Portugal did in 2001 was to decriminalize the use of all drugs if individual consumption does not exceed a certain amount for 10 days. According to Portugal’s Health Ministry, 15 years after decriminalizing drug use, heroin use went down by 75% and death from overdose dropped by 85% although this increased slightly in the wake of an economic crisis. Overall, Portugal’s drug mortality rate is one of the lowest in the whole of Europe.

The explanation above should lead us to rethink our drug policy. It should also lead us to sympathize with the younger Remulla and many others accused of or convicted for using drugs.

Moreover, the Remulla controversy is an opportunity for Marcos Jr., to overturn Duterte’s failed war on drugs. Was it Winston Churchill who said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste?”

Turn the Remulla crisis into an opportunity to reform. Marcos Jr. in fact has already taken a different approach, having rejected the violence and brutality that characterized Duterte’s drug policy. He can take a bigger, bolder step by overhauling the Dangerous Drugs Act. At the minimum, decriminalize drug use. (Note that decriminalization is very different from legalization.)

But to do this, Marcos Jr. and the older Remulla must make a sacrifice. Specifically, Remulla, the father, must resign from his being Justice Secretary. And Marcos Jr. must encourage him to do so.

Secretary Remulla’s pronouncement that he will not intervene in his son’s case, nor will he influence the process is nonetheless insufficient. Similarly, Marcos Jr.’s statement that the calls for Remulla’s resignation “have no basis” is off the mark.

Those demanding Remulla’s resignation have raised the questions of delicadeza* and potential conflict of interest. Delicadeza and avoidance of conflict of interest are strong reasons why Secretary Remulla should resign.

I do not doubt Remulla’s statement to “let justice take its own course.” But this is objectively difficult to happen so long as he heads the Department of Justice. Remulla may not intervene, but his employees or subordinates will still regard him as their boss and will continue dealing with him even after the resolution of his son’s case. It is but natural for them to butter up and please their chief.

Here’s the dilemma. The law is the law, and the law is hard. The law must apply to the younger Remulla.

Aspiring for a new direction regarding drug policy, we want the harm reduction approach to prevail. That means giving the lightest sentence to Remulla if he is found guilty.

Prima facie, the case against the younger Remulla is strong. But having a light sentence is the way to go. Doing this sends a clear message that the whole of government will, from now on, lean towards harm reduction.

But giving Remulla, the son, a light sentence in a situation when the father remains Justice Secretary will arouse public suspicion and anger. That will lead to a political backlash.

The public will accuse the administration of having a double standard of justice. The poor are severely punished, even killed, in the course of the war on drugs. The son of a powerful politician gets a light sentence. But as I have argued, everyone charged with drug use or possession deserves humane treatment.

Upholding harm reduction means sparing anyone, including the younger Remulla, from heavy punishment. For Marcos Jr. and Secretary Remulla to show credibility in doing the right thing, they must make the ultimate sacrifice: Remulla, the father, must resign. It is for their own good.

Having himself acknowledged that he used drugs, Marcos Jr. has sympathy for drug users and understands the need for reform. At the proper time, Marcos Jr., using his political capital, can announce that henceforth, government will terminate Duterte’s war on drugs, amend the Dangerous Drugs Act, and adopt harm reduction.

This essay is written in memory of Edgardo Araneta Kalaw, Jr. He was a Filipino pioneer in championing harm reduction.

* Maintaining dignity by avoiding embarrassing situations and comporting oneself properly. A sense of propriety.