Impact of peace, order on Phl economy
The Philippines seems to be trudging on the right track, especially in terms of combatting the illegal drug trade in the country.
It has been proven that peace and order have a direct positive impact on business. Where there is peace, there are good opportunities that can aid the private sector with customers, qualified employees, local suppliers, and investors.
With that in mind, the Philippines seems to be trudging on the right track, especially in terms of combatting the illegal drug trade in the country. Only two weeks into 2023, police personnel have already seized millions worth of shabu from various drug bust operations across the archipelago.
Just this week, anti-narcotics agents led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Bureau of Customs, Las Pinas City Police Station, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport Authority’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group, arrested a claimant of a parcel from Nigeria that contained shabu said to be worth P89.5-million.
In a separate operation, the PDEA and BOC seized shabu worth P13.8 million hidden in sports water bottle shipments from Thailand on 2 January. The parcels were seized at a package shipping and distribution facility in Pasay City after an investigation of suspicious x-ray scans turned out to be white crystalline substances wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil.
In Isabela, a 35-year-old public school teacher — tagged as one of the high-value drug criminals in the province — was nabbed for selling three sachets of shabu to undercover PDEA agents. Meanwhile, in Cebu City, PDEA dismantled two drug dens where eight individuals, including a 68-year-old senior citizen, were arrested.
These anti-drug operations are in effect not only among the civilian populace but within the ranks of the Philippine National Police as well. The PNP is currently embroiled in a war against its own after a series of controversies involving law enforcers on the frontlines of the drug crackdown were caught engaging in from drug dealing.
Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos officially called on police generals and colonels to submit their “courtesy resignations”, in the government’s bid to protect the integrity of the country’s police force and cleanse the entire organization from any links to illegal drugs.
As of writing, 904 of them, representing 95 percent of senior generals and full colonels of the PNP have heeded Secretary Abalos’ call. They will undergo a lifestyle check, which is part of the efforts of the five-man committee that will assess the courtesy resignations and make a recommendation to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
As the series of events unravel in the coming weeks, Filipinos await with bated breath the results of the intensive investigations. Under Secretary Abalos, there is assurance that the process is founded on transparency and integrity and that all those found liable — whatever his/her rank may be — will be given due sanctions.
The country’s peace and order, after all, is crucial to luring business confidence and investments, which are truly vital to the country’s development.
According to a report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, “Economic performance and peace are often mutually reinforcing.”
This means that there is a cycle formed between peace and economy — peace brings about economic growth, and a better economy assists in building long-lasting peace. How we foster both is crucial to how we move forward as a nation.
The country’s peace and order, after all, is crucial to luring business confidence and investments, which are truly vital to the country’s development.