The Chinese connection

Elson Elizaga

JOSE Rizal and I have relatives in China. I have a Chinese name. Having said that, which doesn’t mean anything, let me proceed:

In a Facebook group, a member charged that fault-finders have no solution to the problems they complain about. They fume against the deadly drug war but they have no answer to the drug “menace”.

This is a common “Dutertard” complaint – changing a subject by presenting something else. If you are not thinking, they will say “Think.” When you think and present an idea, they will say “You’re just criticizing. You’re not doing anything.” And when you do something to help, someone might ask “Are you not the son of your father?” The logic here, if you haven’t noticed, is that if you are the son of your father, you must be wrong.

For the record, I was a government information officer for eight years, and one of my tasks was to think. A major project I was involved in was to convince investors that Cagayan de Oro and Northern Mindanao are profitable places. So, partly, I’m responsible for the traffic mess in Lapasan.

Let me return to the original subject, to the Facebook accusation. I replied by writing that according to the director general of the Philippine National Police Roland “Bato” de la Rosa during a Senate hearing, China is the supplier of methamphetamine (shabu) in the Philippines.

So, I continued, why doesn’t your president, who is a good friend of China, tell or request or demand that China stop the flow of shabu, and perhaps other illegal drugs, to the Philippines?

If the Philippines sends bacteria-laden Manila Super Mangoes to China, and Chinese consumers who make mango float become sick, shouldn’t the Chinese government block the entry of Philippine mangoes instead of launching an assault on their citizens? Shouldn’t the Chinese police arrest Philippine traders and put them in jail, instead of hunting down their own people like wild ducks?

These weren’t my exact words in the Facebook dialogue but the idea is the same: Get to the source of the problem rather than the symptoms. Don’t kill the patient to cure the disease.

He didn’t reply for a few days. He might have done so later, but his message has never reached me because I have blocked him. (Pre, if you’re reading this, there’s a space below for comments.)

As I was writing this article, I read a report about Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who admits that drugs still enter the New Bilibid Prison. This is weird. We recall that Aguirre had charged that Senator Leila de Lima was the cause for the proliferation of drugs in Bilibid, which explains why the government has put her in jail. We had also been promised that crime would stop in six months in 7,500 islands. So, go figure why the government cannot even prevent drugs from entering a guarded (?) government facility. Makes us wonder what other government buildings or offices have been contaminated.

Perhaps it’s time for de Lima and Aguirre to exchange places, and for a competent and healthy leader to take the helm.

E-mail: e.elizaga@gmail.com