The Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) should start the next phase of the war on drugs by targeting syndicates and drug lords, senators said yesterday.

Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said authorities should shift their focus on the sources of illegal substances.

“Go after these syndicates! Go after the supply! All-out war against the suppliers,” he said.

Pimentel stressed the need to undertake the campaign “in accordance with law.”

“If I would be asked, I will concentrate on the supply of drugs. Go after those manufacturing and or importing drugs into our country. Go after these big shots! Prevent the importation, manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs in our country,” he added.

Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan supported Pimentel’s view.

“There is a domino effect expected if you take down the source of the supply of drugs,” said Escudero.

Escudero said in most cases, drug pushers are not users and if the objective of PDEA in its drug testing is to track down the source of drugs among students, such will only prove to be futile.

Escudero said it’s lamentable how concerned authorites are focusing on the young alleged drug users when the campaign against drugs should be narrowing down on drug lords.

Pangilinan proposed that PDEA should shelve what he described as a slapdash and panicky plan trained on little children and instead go after the big drug lords to stop the flow of illegal drugs.

“This proposal is an admission that the brutal government war on drugs is ineffective. We join the critics of the idea, led by the Department of Education (DepEd),” Pangilinan said.

There needs to be a law first to back PDEA’s proposal and its implementation to make mandatory the drug test for children as young as 10 years old or those in Grade 4.

“As DepEd has pointed out, such drug testing would violate the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,” he said.

While drug users are likewise culpable of violating the law, Pimentel raised the issue on accessibility of illegal substances in the country.

“Why are drugs becoming affordable? Affordable even to students who don’t have income? Even to public school students who are supposed to be coming from not well to do families?” the senator asked.

“Who is flooding the community with drugs? Don’t we even care to know who is responsible for this?” he said.

Pimentel suggested authorities must devise a scheme that would make the price of drugs too steep for drug users.

“(It should be) so expensive that this time, students and even those earning income would find the price or cost of drugs so expensive that it is not worth trying or patronizing,” he said.

“Go after those manufacturing and or importing drugs into our country. Go after these big shots! Prevent the importation manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs in our country. Go after these syndicates,” Pimentel said.