DU30 SPARES JED | But drug war will continue ‘no matter how long’

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But drug war will continue ‘no matter how long’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA and ADRIAN STEWART CO
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ILOILO City – Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog heaved a sigh of relief. President Rodrigo Duterte wrapped up his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday without publicly shaming this city or its mayor.

“Well, he focused on national issues,” Mabilog told Panay News last night.

The mayor previously said the worst that could happen during the SONA was Duterte tagging Iloilo yet again as a “bedrock” of illegal drugs and him as a drug protector.

Mabilog described the President’s second SONA as “more on the positive rather than taking the negative.”
He urged Ilonggos to support the President’s programs, “especially on illegal drugs.”

Councilor Joshua Alim, although a critic of Mabilog, also shared the mayor’s sentiment.

“Indi man pwede nga tanan lang nga halambalanon sa Iloilo City negative. Public officials of the city are doing their best to promote Iloilo,” said Alim.

On Aug. 7, 2016 two weeks after his first SONA, the President branded Iloilo – no distinction between the city and province – as “most shabu-lized” in the country. He also accused Mabilog and three other Iloilo town mayors of being coddlers of illegal drugs.

Journalist Roberto Ladera said Duterte’s not name-shaming Iloilo was a good thing. But he said this did not mean he had forgotten what’s going on either in the city or province.

“Perhaps he thought there were more important things to share to the people such as his policies and stand on issues,” he said.

Ladera observed that many Ilonggos monitored Duterte’s SONA to know if the President would again mention Iloilo in his drug war.

“Waiting to be mentioned was just same as being mentioned,” he said.

Eighteen-year-old college student Jewel Galvan of Calinog, Iloilo said she was glad the President did not embarrass Iloilo.
“(The SONA was) not the proper forum to humiliate Iloilo. Basi may nag-advise man kana,” she said.

‘FIGHT WILL NOT STOP’
While he spared Iloilo and Mabilog from embarrassment yesterday, Duterte said his war on illegal drugs will continue “no matter how long it takes.”

“I have resolved that no matter how long it takes, the fight against illegal drugs will continue because it is the root cause of suffering,” Duterte said. “The fight will be unrelenting… despite international and local pressures, the fight will not stop.”
Duterte, who started his SONA a little past 4 p.m. and ended it around 6:25 p.m., also called out his critics to, instead of condemning his program, use their influence to educate the people about the ills of substance abuse.

“Look beyond your biases, your prejudices, ambition and your political agenda,” he said before leaders of Congress, the judiciary, police and military, and the diplomatic corps, among others.

Curiously, nearly a year after name-shaming Mabilog and Iloilo, the President’s accusation remains unsubstantiated and no charges have been filed against this city’s mayor, Maasin’s Mayor Mariano Malones, Carles’ Mayor Sigfriedo Betita, and Calinog’s Mayor Alex Centena.

The four mayors vehemently denied the President’s accusation.

Mabilog urged the Iloilo offices of concerned national government agencies such as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Philippine National Police to make a report on what the city government has been doing in support of the President’s war on drugs.

“Submit those reports to their higher authorities…sila man gihapon maka-determine kon what we are doing is correct, if we’ve been reaping good results, and if we have eliminated or reduced number of drug personalities in Iloilo. I’m very hopeful nga mapakita man nila where are we right now,” said Mabilog.

The President will stop linking Iloilo to illegal drugs if he is informed correctly of what’s being done, stressed the mayor.

DEATH OR HELL
“I will not allow the destruction of our youth. I value human life the way I value mine. You harm the children, and I will hound you to the very gates of hell,” said Duterte whose SONA was interrupted by applauses at least 70 times.

He urged Congress to reimpose death penalty on heinous crimes.

“I warn drug criminals that they have to stop because the alternative is either jail or hell,” said Duterte.

Illegal drugs “weakens the social fabric” and hampers the country’s economic growth, he stressed.

The President would once in a while crack jokes and stray from his prepared English speech to speak in Filipino. He wore a Barong Tagalog for his second SONA, just like in his first SONA last year.

Defending his martial law declaration in the entire Mindanao, Duterte said it was the “fastest way to quell the rebellion at the least cost of lives and properties.”

He declared martial law following clashes between government troops and the Maute terror group on May 23.
“Martial law enabled the military to arrest and question rebels,” said Duterte.

CORRUPTION
The President also urged the public to help him stop corruption in government by using the complaint hotline 8888.
“I cannot stop corruption and wrongdoings if you do not cooperate. You text me, libre ‘yan. You name the public officer, name the sins, and I will take it from there. Do not be afraid of libel. I will take care of that,” said Duterte.

He’s not exempted from being complained, too, he added.

“Kapag tingin n’yo may nagawa akong masama, sabihin ninyo, do not be afraid. We are all workers of government. Kayo ‘yung employer namin. We get the money from your pockets to our pockets,” said the President.

He also said he would allocate some P1 billion in assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for their contributions to the Philippine economy.

“To ensure that their rights are protected, I order the increase of our assistance to OFWs from P400 million to more than P1 billion,” said Duterte. “They are our heroes. They and their families have sacrificed much for the country. We all know how much of the economy comes from their remittances.

He Congress, too, to pass a law creating an authority or a department that would focus on disaster response.
“When nature fights back, it does so with a vengeance,” said Duterte.

In addition, he asked agencies involved in food production to address climate change, which increases the risk of drought in the southern Philippines region.

“The protection of the environment is a priority,” said the former Davao City mayor.

He also warned mining companies to refrain from the “unbridled and irresponsible destruction” of the country’s natural resources./PN
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