Daunting setback
IT’S a daunting setback that strikes at the heart of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promise to stop corruption and end the proliferation of illegal drugs.
It can be very disturbing indeed that tons of shabu are believed to have slipped past the Bureau of Customs, resulting in the relief, one after the other, of retired PNP Chief Supt. Isidro Lapeña and former Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon from the top BOC post.
The drug smuggling scandal involving the shipment of 111 billion worth of shabu concealed inside magnetic lifters has prompted President Duterte to call in the military to get involved in the BOC. In announcing the military involvement at the waterfront, the President gave the impression it was a military takeover wherein customs personnel would be on floating status while military men temporarily run BOC operations.
But many have raised a howl of protest against using the military for civilian work, citing Article 16, Section 5 (4) of the 1 Constitution: “No member of the armed forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the Government including government-owned or controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries.”
Amid the backlash, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo explained Malacañang’s move is in accordance with Article 7, Section 18 of the Constitution whereby the President, as commander-in-chief, may call out the Armed Forces “to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion.”
“Lawless violence certainly would refer to what is happening in BOC… If you can bring in hundreds of kilos of drugs, then there must be some grave wrong in that area and there is state of lawlessness there… It endangers the security of our countrymen,” Panelo said. “When you say lawless violence, it’s not just physical violence. You do violence to the Constitution. You do violence to the law. It’s a state of lawlessness.”
For one who was catapulted to power on a promise to rid the country of the drug menace, it is understandable why President Duterte, intent as he is on pursuing his commitment, has made the drug war a top priority of his administration. And it’s certainly understandable, too, why his exasperation over this setback of big-time drug smuggling has prompted him to call in the military.
While some people think that the purpose of military involvement is merely to elicit shock and awe, it cannot be denied that there is mounting frustration over rampant corruption resulting in continued proliferation of illegal drugs. The situation calls for more drastic measures. If military involvement would be merely for supervision or “intimidation” of customs personnel to do their work properly and shun corrupt practices, it isn’t clear yet.
But what seems clear is the mounting frustration of many Filipinos over seemingly unabated drug smuggling, leading many to doubt if the administration is really serious in its anti-drug campaign.
In the episode two weeks ago of DZMM’s teleradyo program, Magpayo Nga Kayo (9:30-10:30 am, Saturdays), which I co-host with broadcaster May Valle Ceniza, many callers expressed their doubts. They felt that there were no honest-to-goodness efforts to stop or minimize the supply of drugs if tons of shabu can enter the country through the waterfront.
And some anti-smuggling experts like former military man and customs chief Ramon Farolan said that all the “confusing and contradictory statements” pertaining to military men at BOC has led him “to believe that there was no clear plan of action prior to Lapeña’s ouster” on how to effectively combat drug smuggling. He said the move to call the military “appears to be a knee-jerk reaction.”
But Farolan has a nice suggestion: “Why not appoint a career customs officer, preferably one who has the trust and confidence of the President to head the agency?”
He said there are experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated BOC personnel. “It will take time for an outsider, whether military or civilian, to learn the ropes and to bring in his own assistants. After a while they may be swallowed up by the system or after he is gone, any reform put in place on his watch will go down the drain,” he explained.
And I would also like to respectfully suggest: Why not maximize the use of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) which really ought to be the overall leader in the government’s drug war?
While the President is overall-incharge for the execution of all laws, including those related to the antidrug campaign, it is the DDB – which is directly under the Office of the President – that should be crafting the policies and strategies to control illegal drugs, and implementing them through the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
The DDB is a high-powered organization with brilliant minds. It is composed of 17 members, nine of whom are part of the President’s Cabinet. Twelve of the 17 members are in an ex-officio capacity and these are the secretaries of the Departments of Justice, Health, National Defense, Finance, Labor and Employment, Interior and Local Government, Social Welfare and Development, Foreign Affairs, and Education. The other three members are the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, the chairman of the National Youth Commission, and the PDEA director general.
The law (RA 9165 the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) empowers the DDB to “be the policymaking and strategy-formulating body in the planning and formulation of policies and programs on drug prevention and control.” It is tasked to “formulate, develop, and establish a comprehensive, integrated, unified, and balanced national drug abuse prevention and control strategy.”
With the DDB working to its fullest potential to overcome setbacks in the drug war, President Duterte’s campaign promise would have more chances of reaping success.