Marbil: Drugs good for economy

Malign the achievements of the war on drugs and pierce the invincibility of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil has unveiled a radical departure from the regular concept of the anti-drugs campaign, acknowledging that sometimes the use of shabu or meth is a necessity for economic well-being.

In a television interview, Marbil tried to sound collected in claiming that drug proliferation is based on the economy.

“We anticipated the crime rate to shoot up because it was post-Covid (pandemic) which meant that most Filipinos did not have work, but crime figures were down during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by more than half compared to before,” he claimed.

Marbil’s data showed that crime incidence was down 60 percent “or more” compared to the first two years of the Duterte administration.

The head of the police force also belied the statements of former President Rodrigo Duterte made during the recent Quadcomm inquisition that criminal activities, including “children being raped,” had risen as a result of the resurgence of the drug trade.

“Purveyors of this menace are back in business,” according to the former chief executive.

But in deflecting the assertions of the former president, Marbil exposed his incompetence.

“Remember not all drug users are addicts, nor do they want to be addicted. Many use drugs to extend their working hours,” the country’s top policeman said.

“When you use drugs, you are awake, and remember the money earned from work is based on the hours spent on a job,” the PNP chief unbelievably reasoned.

The flawed logic was a justification for Marbil’s claim that the campaign during the term of President Duterte and the drive that succeeded it that he is handling can’t be compared.

“We are not sure about how the drugs are used so I don’t want to compare,” he asserted.

Marbil, moreover, stressed that the government has better figures today about crime.

He claimed the new PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who is a former Davao Region police director, discovered that police stations in Davao City kept two sets of blotters supposedly to show that crime incidents in the bailiwick of the former president was low.

Marbil dismissed suggestions the nation was better off in terms of peace and order during Duterte’s tenure.

He indicated: “The incumbent President wants respect for human rights and the preservation of lives.”

What is “nanlaban?” It should have an element of self defense. Marbil said that former president Duterte’s statement about ordering policemen to encourage identified criminals to fight back was wrong since resorting to such action lacked the element of self-defense.

The convoluted logic of Marbil only indicates that the police as an organization does not have a coherent program against the drug problem.

How can anti-drug units of the police and other law enforcement bodies proceed following Marbil’s view that drug use has an economic function?

The logic was propounded to rationalize the difference between the mentality of the police now and during the term of Duterte despite it being inane.

Using Marbil’s crooked logic, the drug trade has contributed to economic progress during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which is frightening since it could be true.

It was also meant to debunk Duterte’s principle that the use of drugs is directly connected to the rise in criminality.

Pathetically, justifying the use of shabu as a necessity for some, in Marbil’s belief, softens the notoriety of drug syndicates, which is a strange attitude, if not incompetence, for the country’s top law enforcer.