Group E Grade 11 – Mercy

Position Paper on War on Drugs by Carlos Nicio

John Paolo Baldado
Jade Buenafe
Alexandra Alvarez
Julia Dela Cruz

President Rodrigo Duterte initiated the Philippine Drug War after he was elected in
the 2016 election. Since he was campaigning, he promised that he would kill all drugs
users within 3 to 6 months. According to the Commission on Human Rights, there are
already 30,000 casualties. All deaths allegedly included people who fought against the
police and possessed definite amount of drugs and guns, including teenagers and
infants.
In speeches made after his inauguration on June 30, President Duterte urged
citizens to kill suspected criminals and drug addicts. He said he would order police to
adopt a shoot-to-kill policy, and would offer them a bounty for dead suspects. Since
then, many questionable killings happened in the country. As an effect, many people
and institutions reacted on it. Some politicians asked Duterte to investigate the
killings, while others took the opportunity to propose Senate bills to lower the age of
criminal responsibility from fifteen to nine, and to restore capital punishment. The PNP
Chief announced in September 2016 that the Drug War had "reduced the supply of
illegal drugs in the country by some 80 to 90 percent", and said that the War was
already being won, based on statistical and observational evidence. The Archbishop of
Manila Luis Antonio Tagle acknowledged that people were right to be "worried about
extrajudicial killings”. On October 12, 2017, President Duterte read on public TV a
memorandum that removes police from the drug war and place the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in charge. He said that the shift was done in order to
target big networks and suppliers of drugs.
As a group, we do not find the Philippine Drug War to be effective. The war on drugs
is indeed a good way in eliminating the problem on drugs, however, it is also in
question if due to these events, are those implementing the plan still values humanity
and right procedures in doing the task at hand? It is still important to consider what is
right and wrong in the war on drugs in order to avoid unnecessary killings and abuse in
power. This is not just about implementation but also setting order for the common
good of every one.