Editorial
Drug battle is never over
FOR two weeks in a row, combined forces led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency with the police and the military have been making major busts in the illegal drug trade, particularly in Dagupan City, which has been tagged as the drug hub in the north. Big fish, or what the authorities label as “major drug personalities”, have been caught in the net — not merely small-time street dealers who carry and sell a gram or two of the popular drug shabu. This time, we’re talking millions worth of illegal drugs. Finally, thankfully, we are seeing concrete and significant results.
But the drug menace is as persistent as the flooding problem in Dagupan. The arrest and filing of charges against the drug lords is only half the battle won. Now our public prosecutors must make sure that these criminals pay for their offenses against society and stay in jail where, hopefully, they can no longer destroy individual lives and families.
As for PDEA and the police, and not to forget our local government officials, they still have their work cut out for them because the fight against illegal drugs will never be over. Once the authorities become complacent, surely there will be many other drug lords out there who will readily take over the territories left empty in Dagupan.
The recent successes of PDEA prove to us one old truism: If there’s a will, there’s a way. Local government officials, like Dagupan’s Mayor Benjie Lim, can not simply make grand pronouncements and public threats against these drug dealers. They have got to have the political will to actually put a stop to the illegal trading all year round.
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Downright funny
SOME TIME In 2012, the Palace issued Executive Order No. 156, which imposed a ban on the importation of used cars at the Port Irene in Sta. Ana, Cagayan. On January 7 this year, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of President Aquino’s order.
Case closed? Not quite.
On February 11, 2013, more than 200 vehicles of mostly used cars arrived at Port Irene. While processing of the shipment was stopped by Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, some 400 vehicles more of similar grade were also set to arrive yesterday if not today (Feb. 24) in naked defiance of both the Supreme Court and Malacanang.
Port Irene’s car trader Jaime Vicente has told the Inquirer, “Our operations cannot be stopped because the verdict is not final and executory. We go on because we believe we do not have any reason to stop.”
The Palace and the Supreme Court are not reasons enough to stop?
Indeed, it is not just more fun in the Philippines, it also is downright funny.
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