Rody told: Listen to drug war experts

The Duterte government should look into and learn from the experiences of countries that have also waged a war against illegal drugs, Vice President Leni Robredo said yesterday.

“I think it’s important that we listen to the statement of the former president of Colombia who went through the same track. His story is important not because we have to copy it but to learn from it,” Robredo told reporters, referring to former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria’s article in the New York Times that said Duterte is repeating his mistakes.

“We might commit the

same mistakes that he ( Gaviria) did. For me, I think the government should listen to the stories and experiences of those who have been in this situation,” she added.

The Colombian president, who launched Colombia’s bloody narcotics crackdown and battled drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, said taking a hard line against drug suspects is not the way to win the war on drugs.

“Throwing more soldiers and police at drug users is not just a waste of money but also can actually make the problem worse. Locking up nonviolent offenders and drug users almost always backfires, instead strengthening organized crime,” Gaviria said.

Robredo believes that Gaviria was right in saying that the government should look at the drug problem as a public health and security issue.

Aside from looking at Colombia’s experience, she said the Duterte government should listen to the stories of other countries that combated the proliferation of illegal drugs and its network of operators.

“I think it is worth looking into,” Robredo added.

She cited as example Thailand’s failed campaign against illegal drugs.

Gaviria, who was president of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, waged a war on drugs at an “enormous cost” by pouring billions of dollars to abolish drug cartels, destroying drug crops and jailing every drug pusher in sight.

All these measures, according to him, only resulted in new problems that included the slaughter of thousands of people; assassination of Colombia’s brightest officials, journalists and law enforcers; corruption of politicians with drug payoffs; and the spread of Colombian drugs to neighboring countries.

He recommended that the Philippines strengthen instead its public health programs, safeguard human rights and focus on economic development.

Duterte slammed Gaviria for lecturing on him, calling the former leader an “idiot.”

More than 7,000 people have been killed in anti-illegal drug operations that began when Duterte took office in mid 2016.