PRESIDENT Duterte hit the nail right on the head when he mentioned the LTO and the LTFRB as corrupt government offices. His call for the resignation of the presidential appointees of these offices is timely because callousness has seemed to have engulfed the faces of the alleged corrupt government officials in these offices.
From what I have read in several reports, government officials in some Asian countries either commit harakiri or resign once they get entangled with corruption issues.
In our country and in Cagayan de Oro, it seems that only the corrupt government officials of certain government offices do not know or were never informed how corrupt their offices are. Of course, corruption cannot be committed by an office but obviously by the people in it.
There is that overstaying and callous director who pretends to be clean although everybody else in town already knows how corruption is done in his office.
Will somebody from these two office explain why there are new taxi units plying city streets that do not even have license plates yet? They simply sport their respectrive conduction permit numbers.
Can an unregistered vehicle be issued a franchise to operate?
How much is the official fee for a franchise? Sixty thousand pesos? Fifty thousand pesos? How much is reflected in the official receipts given to applicants?
And then there’s that taxi organization president who came to the rescue of the named corrupt government office, saying there is no corruption in that office. Why, Sir, are you part of the group that victimizes operators of taxi units?
Mag resign na kayong lahat diyan! -Romanito Conteras, romanitoconteras@gmail.comSupport and Caution
WE laud President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on his serious campaign versus illegal drugs, criminality and corruption, his election campaign promise which he will do in three to six month-time of his term. The promise is getting fulfilled.
Even before President Rody formally assumed office, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has started rounding up known illegal drug users and pushers in Metro Manila. Today, more than one month after the President’s inauguration on June 30, hundreds had been killed, hundreds more were arrested and jailed, and thousands voluntarily surrendered. All of them are said to be small time users and pushers, and, as human rights advocates say, are poor people.
However, on July 5, the President unexpectedly named five former and incumbent police generals who are illegal drug protectors. This was followed by an announcement on Aug. 7 of 159 local government officials (mayors, former mayors, and former vice mayors) incumbent and former police and military officers, and incumbent and former judges who are linked to illegal drugs trade. He claims more names will follow.
The big-time drug lords, the President says, are in other countries like China and Mexico from where they direct their operations, and it is difficult if not impossible to run after them.
The PNP chief, Police General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, claims that crime have gone down, indicating that most crime are drugelated. Thus the war on drugs is also a war against criminality.
This may be true as far petty crime such as bag-snatching, child molestation, rape, rape with homicide and murder, “akyat bahay” theft, hold-ups and the likes are concerned. Big crimes such as bank robberies, pyramiding scam, illegal recruitment, cyber-crimes, break-in in malls and the likes continue unabated.
Steps in curbing corruption in government have been started. Among the measures are the signing of the Executive Order on Freedom of Information which covers the executive department and the order to shorten the processing of applications in government offices. More serious and lasting measures still have to be done.
Given the number of days in office of the new administration, its campaign against illegal drugs, criminality and corruption may be considered a success thus far. We congratulate the President for this, and pledge our support for his sincere efforts to address the present situation.
While we believe and support President Duterte’s war on drugs, there is a need for deeper analysis why the drug problem is thriving and who benefit from this. There is also need for the present administration to examine the correctness of its approach in eliminating this menace. The extra-judicial killings that are happening, we believe, won’t solve that problem but exacerbate it as most of those killed are small time and poor people. The suspected five police generals and government officials seem to be getting a special privilege; they remain veru much alive.
We wish to caution the President, then, to respect the human rights of the people. Life which came from the Creator is precious; it has to be preserved as much as possible. The campaign can continue without violating people’s rights and keeping all actions within the parameters of the law.
We bid the President success in his drug campaign in particular, and in his administration in general. His success is the Filipino people’s success. -Bishop Elmer Bolocon, UCCP, Executive Secretary; Most Rev. Deogracias Iñiguez JR., D.D.; Bishop Felixberto Calang, IFI, Co-chairpersons, Ecumenical Bishops ForumLegacy of Drugs
THE truth about the Aquino government, the last administration that ruled us for six years but did not know how to govern or did not care to, is that its officials either looked the other way or clearly participated in the big business of drugs, a business that can turn middling government officials like one mayor in the Visayas to become a millionaire with easy and untraceable money.
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the drug problem escalated way beyond control during the Aquino administration, affecting 99 percent of barangays in Metro Manila and 26 percent nationwide in 2015.
There is no way to explain this rampant growth in the drug trade during the Aquino administration except by allowing for gross inefficiency or illegal collaboration. I’m sure these official figures are conservative estimates. But even with these conservative figures, the consequences of having so many Filipinos hooked on drugs is unfathomable in terms of lost human resources and real work forces for a developing nation, horrific potential for more crime, and the depletion of government resources to tackle this problem.
In simple terms, these are the major drugelated problems that we are experiencing nowadays. Like, too many addicts mean less able workers and fewer taxpayers for our national coffers. The loss of taxpayers is a very big problem for any government, especially in the long-term.
There are so many possibilities for petty crime, including addicts, breaking into houses and robbing pedestrians and passengers on public vehicles to find money to support their habit. You and your family may be their next victims, and you will consider yourself lucky if you are able to walk away from such an experience simply with a stolen phone or wallet. The Duterte administration could use government money for real development like improving or building more schools and hospitals, and finally creating better roads and systems that don't flood in a downpour and efficient public transportation.
Instead, it must now use these same modest resources to fight a drug war instead of a poverty war, and to try and help get so many poor people hooked on drugs out of their habit. This is really too bad for us as we need better schools, hospitals and infrastructure.
Most of the people support Duterte in his real fight against drugs, crime and corruption because under the last administration, the Philippines became such a dangerous and inefficient country to live in. Many of us want the Philippines to be a safe place to live in again. But winning a war on drugs means hard decisions and tough consequences. Whenever you’re wavering on this, just think that the only other option is for drugs to win against us. If voters had chosen “continuity” last May, we would have turned into a full-blown narco state, judging from the list of mayors, judges and government officials involved in the drug business. Eventually, 16 million+ voters wanted “change” instead of “continuity.”
War is tough and the leader that takes this war on drugs has just made a hard, brave and calculated decision based on pros and cons. It will be long, painful and not without casualties because there is no war without any of these--and this is why way more leaders (like PNoy and his administration) choose to live with the business of drugs than to butt heads with them. It is a thankless job, an unpopular fight and a seriously dangerous endeavor as well. But finally we have a leader who will fight drugs because of his unconditional love for the country and the people. And if you are supporting this war on drugs and sometimes you feel you are wavering in the face of the anti-propaganda being unleashed by the above, just remember that the only other option available to us right now--with so many cities about to become narco-states--is to lose this war on drugs. Please imagine what our country will be like if we lose this war on drugs. No one will be safe, even if we are rich and live in a prestigious mansions or houses and run around with a van full of security guards behind you. You and your families will still have to go out into the real drug-filled world at some point.
And if you feel like crying for a couple of alleged drug pushers now, save your tears--all of them--for the time we will have lost out to drugs and you will need to cry for an entire country. God save all of us then. -Dianne Abella, abelladianne83@gmail.com
