The fight is ours, too

PRESIDENT Rodrigo (Digong) Duterte is spearheading the fight against drugs, and on the line is his life and his office. As a Filipino citizen, I find it my duty to make an open suggestion in this war against drugs. This war against drugs is ours too. The last thing that I would like to see is when there is division in the three branches of the government: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Remove one or the other and democracy will fall. These three branches of government must work hand in hand in this campaign if we want to win this war.

I have been a basketball player my whole life even now at the age of 63, and in my younger days as a player there were many instances where we won the game against all odds. Why? It’s because we played as a team.

A good player must trust his teammates and build up confidence among players through communication. Teamwork is the key to winning. Teamwork is a product of good leadership. We have a good leader in this fight against drugs.

It would be a disaster if only one agency speaks like he has the monopoly of absolute truth, or has the semblance of speaking the absolute truth. Who will be watching the watchdog? “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” said Aristotle.

The executive branch alone cannot win this war. It needs unity and concerted efforts of the three branches of government. Once teamwork is established, then a very strong message is given to all drug lords, pushers, and protectors that this government is dead serious. The three branches of government must work hand in hand in this war against drugs.

United, there is nothing we cannot do and achieve. Divided, we will achieve nothing.

This government must initiate to unite and create a solid foundation to become the forefront in the war against drugs. This foundation therefore should be the three pillars of democracy.

1. The executive branch, President Duterte, through the Department of Justice, should create a Special Prosecutor’s Office and designate between five to 10 prosecutors in provinces and cities where drugs are rampant, to handle exclusively drug-related cases.

Next, mobilize provincial governors, city and municipal mayors, and barangay captains and take an active role in this war against drugs. The philosophy behind their mobilization is to prevent the proliferation of drugs in their areas, monitor the activities of the youth and educate the youth on the menace of drugs.

The Office of the President and the Department of Local Government through its regional, provincial and city officers should be given the task to support and monitor all the activities.

The NBI, Napolcom, PDEA and PNP must create a composite team to go after drug lords, pushers, users and protectors. Presently, there is an existing wall of mistrust between these law enforcement agencies. The President can easily tear down this wall. This group is also mandated in the task of gathering information, and gathering evidence to build a case against these people.

2. The judicial branch, through Chief Justice Sereno, will create between five to 10 special courts in the provinces where drugs are very rampant, handling only drug-related cases and appointing judges with an impeccable reputation. They are given a mandate of 60 days to terminate a case. The same holds true in the Court of Appeals. The Chief Justice can easily monitor the progress of each case as well as the performance of the judges assigned.

3. The legislative branch represented by Congress will then be tasked to pass an appropriation bill to cover the budgetary requirement for all the special courts, special prosecutors, special offices created, the salaries of judges, officers and their staffs, including their securities, and such other legislation necessary to carry out the fight against drugs.

When these three pillars are in place, the epicenter is the Office of the President, so there is no doubt in my mind that this war against drugs will be won and our victory will be lasting.

Let us once again be reminded of Edmund Burke’s famous quote that goes “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” -- Atty. Enrique Vicente P. Rama