Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia on Tuesday defended the Duterte administration’s war against drugs and criminality.
He said criminality was driving business away so the drug-related killings are a “necessary evil” to achieve peace and order. And then the country would be more attractive to foreign investments.
“We should also interview those who approve of what’s happening and see it as something that has to happen in the pursuit of greater good,” the respected academic and career official said.
“If we have peace and order, which is the foundation of the 10 points, then the investment climate will definitely substantially improve and many will be rushing to the Philippines to invest,” he said.
The Cabinet official also instructed the media to report, instead, on the crime rate that has gone down as a result of the crackdown on the drug menace instead of focusing on the relatives of those who were killed.
Meanwhile, Palace communications officials say there are working to reverse the “negative image” of the country. They have gone as far as suggesting that it is the media, by making a running count of the number of killings and documenting the stories of those killed, that are responsible for making the country look worse before the international community.
The United Nations, the United States government, human rights advocates and civil society have slammed Duterte’s bloody war on drugs that has thus far resulted in 1,779 deaths, with the killings perpetuated either by police or vigilante groups.
President Duterte has not taken the criticism well, cursing the UN and others critical of his campaign—words which his subalterns have had to qualify and refine.
They have also said the justice system is so inadequate that it would take a while before complete faith can be placed on due process.
At best, the officials’ statements justifying the killings reminds us that the fight against illegal drugs is a tradeoff between how swiftly we want results and how urgently we need to act within the bounds of law, decency and reason. Certainly, there must be a middle ground between these two ends.
It is apparent that the Duterte administration leans towards the former—so much that it slams anybody who does not agree with its methods. Unfortunately, the adverse reaction to valid observations merely trivializes the fight: Mr. Duterte is portrayed as carrying on with his fight with the drug menace as his personal quest that he feels slighted at any criticism of it.
The menace destroys individual potential, drives a wedge among family members, occasions crime and yes, drives away investors. It is messy and complicated enough to be distorted by conflicting, confusing and incendiary statements by those whose task it is to assure us that we are on the right track.