Can’t be licked during his term? EDITORIAL

President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission that the drug problem in the country can’t be solved by one president in one term (that’s six years) can be considered a turnaround from his previous promise to lick it in three months, later changed to six months, early in his term. No, it wasn’t just the President going around the country preaching the 3-6 months gospel. His running mate in last year’s elections, now Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, was even more vociferous.

Interestingly, the President’s statement came at a time when the issue on the P6.4-billion shipment of illegal drugs from China is still to be resolved. That issue not only had the Bureau of Customs reeling for its failure to intercept the shipment but has also put some personalities on the spot, including Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, the President’s son.

What this shows is that while the Duterte administration is focused on the street pushers and the occasional drug lords, it failed on the most important aspect of the war against drugs: the supply side. It is doubtful if the subsequent seizure of the drugs dented the supply network already in place in the country from abroad.

For example, how many illegal drugs shipments have passed through the ports before this? Then there’s the other reality the President mentioned. The country has a long coastline and has thousands of islands to guard.

But while his being candid is admirable, the President needs to do more than admit the difficulty in battling the illegal drugs trade. The statement is an admission that current efforts against the illegal drugs trade are not enough. Which means that a new strategy needs to be conceived to make his war effective. Unfortunately, nothing has been said on this.

Will the strategy that is in place now, which is too focused on battling street-level drug pushers and the occasional drug lords and less on cutting off the illegal drugs supply, be the same until the President ends his term in 2022? That’s an interesting question that should be answered now rather than later.