Not so fast.
The decision of Duterte, through his Memorandum yesterday, to leave the conduct of his drug war to PDEA and to strip the PNP of any involvement in the anti-drug operations tells a million tales.
For one, this means that the so-called drug war really sucks, and that it sucks big time. Not only does this mean that the PNP is doing it all wrong, but that Duterte himself and his whole apparatus of terror and violence are doing it all wrong.
Many times over and ever since the start of his flagship program of drug war and EJKs, many sectors have been in chorus in saying that, while there is a serious problem of drug trading and drug dependency in the country, better approaches are available that give primacy to due process and to a rehabilitative and reformative philosophy that values life and rule of law in dealing with a multi-dimensional problem such as the drug menace. Hindi itong ganitong gyera. Hindi itong gyera naman talaga laban sa mahihirap at laban sa dignidad ng mga Pilipino.
Nang napatay si Jee Ick Joo ay sandaling pinahinto ni Duterte ang kanyang gyera at inilipat sa PDEA ang pagsasagawa ng mga drug operations. Ganito rin ngayon at hinigitan pa dahil sinasabi sa Memorandum ni Duterte na eksklusibo na PDEA na lamang ang magpapatakbo ng kampanya at mag-iimbestiga sa mga kasong may kinalaman sa droga.
Kumbaga, maihahambing natin ang PNP sa isang ka-relasyon na matapos gamitin at abusuhin ni Duterte ay bigla na lamang ilalaglag at sasaksakin sa likod. Ini-EJK rin ni Duterte ang PNP.
But, this should not mean that some crooked officers and members of PNP should be off the hook. They should all be made accountable for the mass murder of their fellow Filipinos. Nagpagamit sila sa kanilang Katay Digong. At ang iba pa ay talaga namang mamamatay-tao na at tiwali simula’t sapul.
As to PDEA, we should also cast wary eyes towards it. It also has its own basket of rotten eggs. There have been reports of corrupt officials and scalawags within their ranks. I recall, for example, how Col. Ferdinand Marcelino once revealed about the shenanigans in PDEA while he was detailed there as a special agent. Ito raw mga tiwali sa PDEA na nakaaway nya ang nagdiin at nagpahuli sa kanya kinalaunan.
Naalala ko rin ang mga batang testigo ng CHR mula sa Tuguegarao na nakausap ko noong Agosto noong isang taon ngunit hindi napagbigyan ng pagkakataong mailabas sa Senado. Ayon sa dalawang batang ito na noon ay edad 11 at 15 pa lang, nasaksihan nila kung paano pinatay ng mga naka-uniporme at nagpakilala pang PDEA agents ang kanilang ama sa kanila mismong tahanan. Hindi nakikipagtalo, at lalong walang armas ang kanilang tatay, nang pataying walang awa ng PDEA agent.
Kaya G. Duterte: tigilan mo na ang kahibangan sa drug war mong ito. Hindi solusyon ang pagpapalit-palit ng mga pasimunong ahensya sa problema sa droga. Mali mismo ang drug war at ang taktika nito. Ikaw mismo ang mali.