“The war on drugs shall be pursued and won through ‘love’.”
This was the statement of the BBM-Sara Uniteam, the tandem of Presidential aspirant Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. and vice-presidential aspirant Inday Sara Duterte, regarding their program against illegal drugs when given a chance to serve as the country’s president and vice-president in 2022.
“Naging matagumpay ang kampanya ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte laban sa ipinagbabawal na gamot, ipagpapatuloy natin ito at sasangkapan natin ng puso ang pagpuksa sa salot ng lipunan na ito,” the BBM-Sara Uniteam stated.
In their official statement, they opined that the persistent scourge brought about by illegal drugs is rooted in health, economy, and law enforcement.
“The proliferation of illegal drugs is a law enforcement, economic and health concern,” they said.
“Sinimulan na ni Pangulong Duterte, atin na lamang i-e-enhance ang programa, kinakailangang magtayo ng marami pang rehabilitation center, magdagdag ng mga professional na mag-aaruga sa mga biktima na ituturing nating mga pasyente, bibigyan ng pagkakaabalahan, pwedeng hanap-buhay katulad ng handicrafts habang nasa proseso ng rehabilitasyon hanggang maiahon at maipanalo natin sila laban sa napakasamang bisyong ito,” they stated.
According to the BBM-Sara Uniteam, selling illegal drugs, especially shabu, is a lucrative business such that a few grams of shabu are equivalent to one gram of gold that may be mined painstakingly for one long week in mining sites.
“Sa mining site isang linggo bago maka-harvest ng isang gramo ng ginto, samantalang ang shabu saglit lang sa kalye pera na. That’s the reason why after five years of aggressive campaign against illegal drugs, the problem still persists.”
“Every day, we read news reports of so-called ‘buy-bust’ operations by the police resulting in the arrest or neutralization of drug suspects and the confiscation of varying quantities of illegal drugs,” they said.
“This tells us that the problem of illegal drugs is likely to persist for as long as the drug trade is a lucrative or profitable enterprise despite the inherent danger of arrest or even death in the hands of law enforcers,” the BBM-SARA Uniteam added.
For the tandem, aside from intensifying the guarding of the ports for possible entries of illegal drugs, the government must also make sure that every Filipino shall have a paying job that may grant them decent living conditions so they may not be easily lured to the illegal drug trade.
“Hindi tuluyang masusugpo ang illegal na droga kung mayroon tayong mga pulis na kasabwat ng mga druglord sa ilegal na negosyong ito, samantalang ang mga nagagamit na drug mule at small-time pusher naman ay mga kaawa-awa nating mga kababayan na lugmok sa kahirapan at ang mga drug dependent naman ay mga taong maaari pa nating gamutin sa mga rehabilitation center o maituwid sa pamamagitan ng ating penal system,” they said.
The BBM-Sara Uniteam is also pushing for continued cleansing of the police ranks–to constantly be on the lookout and dismiss officers found out to be using illegal drugs and going after police officers involved in the drug trade.