Every Filipino’s war
THE war against drugs has taken its most evil form, killing the sinners and the innocent, the culprits and even the youth. The war did not spare the young. Kian Delos Santos, a seventeenyear- old student was shot dead in a Caloocan drug raid. His and brutal.
At this most pressing time, we have to speak up and stand. We have seen the horrors of this war. We believe that as we all take arms in this warfare, education is still our most powerful weapon.
We cannot escape our present it. It has been blatant in words and in actions, projecting an unshaken stance.
However, the death toll among drug personalities has been escalading. The war against drugs has shown another horrifying image: the alleged extrajudicial killings. And what makes it even worse is that it involves, this time, minors and students as casualties.
The pervasiveness of the drug trade in the country is unimaginable. The Philippine National Police has reported that drugs proliferated 90 percent of the barangays in the entire country, an how extensive and far- reaching the drug problem has been.
Drugs are gradually killing our society. They destroy families, ruin the lives of individuals and cripple our communities.
Police reports have established strong links to drug addiction with crimes and we are not spared from daily newscasts of brutal killings committed by drug addicts. However, a violent war against drugs will never be the solution and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) are unlawful, inhuman and immoral. Those linked to drugs at any level must be put into trial under the rule of law.
According to our Constitution, the accused is innocent until otherwise proven guilty and death will not pay such crime. PNP has reported about 6,000 drug- related deaths but we are not certain if all those had a hand in the drug trade.
Extrajudicial killing is still killing and killing is a crime. The urgency to resolve the issue on drugs is necessary, but killing must not we accept extrajudicial killing as a legitimate solution, we turn beasts against humans.
The Catholic Bishops Conference ( CBCP) firmly lambasts EJKs because these are equivalent to robbing the suspects of their right to due process and a chance to change their lives.
Killings will never cure drug addiction. The drug dealers, pushers and users are all victims of a much-seething social problem that is poverty. Individuals peddle drugs because they are unemployed and uneducated. Their job opportunities are limited, forcing them to take the easier and more lucrative drugs trade.
According to data from the - opment Center in July 2017, there were at least 54 people aged 18 years old and below killed in either police operations or vigilante-style in addition to more than 3500 alleged drug personalities killed in legitimate operations.
With this alarming fact, we really need to win this drug war and education can be our most viable and impactful solution. We believe that schools can be vital institutions in educating our youth on the ugliest form and how destructive it can be in our society.
Education will teach our youth the ills of drugs and will empower them to resist drug temptation. Likewise, if they are educated, their chances of employment will be higher. If they are employed, they can live decently.
The inclusion of drug education in our curriculum will definitely teach our students profound awareness on its prevention. Integrating it in our classroom lessons will enable them to be responsible and selfdiscerning individuals.
While the extrajudicial killings taint the drug war as they shed blood, education can save lives, build families and restore communities. We condemn every killing because every life is precious, and the right to life is a constitutional and God-given right.
As we fight for justice for Delos Santos and other victims, let us take this war inside our classrooms and school buildings and teach our youth the harmful effects of drugs. This will indeed turn every Filipino youth a victorious warrior in this battle against illegal drugs. The war against drugs is indeed every