DESPITE the unceasing campaign of the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency against drug trafficking, the problem persists. It appears like even if our law enforcers will continue to make arrests every hour of everyday, we will never truly eradicate the drug menace. Where do the drug pushers get their shabu? It seems they never run out of supply.
As early as a decade ago, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime identified the Philippines as a global shabu giant. Its World Drug Report said the Philippines ranked fifth in the world in methamphetamine seizures from 1998 to 2007, next only to China and the United States, countries with much larger populations, and Asian neighbors Thailand and Taiwan.
The hard, sad truth is that the sources of shabu are left unchecked. Without doubt, a more calibrated campaign is needed to solve the drug trafficking problem. Running against street-level pushers is not enough.
We have to attack the drug problem at the source, which is the funding, manufacture, and distribution of illegal drugs.
The police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency are targeting high-profile drug traffickers and users so they can seize more illegal stuff and deal a big blow to drug trafficking. This is good. For the longest time, we often hear of small-time drug pushers being arrested and picayune illegal drugs recovered. But the “big fishes” and their huge supplies remain scot-free and untouchable.
We will never make any substantial headway in the campaign unless we go straight to the source. Our authorities must remember that drug trafficking is an organized crime on a massive scale.
