Drug syndicates in the country are really like rust. They never sleep. They keep on eating the moral fiber of Philippine society. Their tentacles, the men and women who make drug distribution their means of living and sustain their high lifestyle, seem undaunted by their potential infection of the deadly corona virus disease, which as of last Friday had already afflicted more than 27 thousand people all over the country and claiming the lives of over a thousand Filipinos.
Of late more than 70 drug personalities were arrested and several million pesos worth of illegal drugs have been confiscated by anti-illegal drug authorities. And this is happening in the midst of the fight against the unseen extremely deadly enemy that hit more than eight million people in the entire world killing more than half a million in its rampage globally.
And while most of us Filipinos remain confined in our homes as part of the measures imposed by health authorities to arrest the pandemic spread, many have also explored all kinds of activities just to earn a living. This is the situation as there are still restrictions on the number of people in the labor force allowed to return to their work.
The most resorted to livelihood especially among the men is engaging in delivery services whether these are for food, medicine, and other items that the home-quarantined individuals can only buy through on-line. Thus, the delivery services have become the most sought after persons these CloViD 19 days.
However, it turned out that the never-sleeping think-tanks of the drug syndicates have also discovered the same nature of work as both convenient and “safe” for the transport of their illegal commodity.
Thus, suddenly some people turned themselves into delivery services providers. However, it turned out, based on news reports on the recent drug personalities’ apprehension, the delivery guys have only select clients, their own syndicates.
Most confiscated illegal drugs were purported to be food items ordered by self-quarantined families from fast food chains, or products for personal use supposedly of clients.
But to the chagrin of law enforcement authorities, instead of food and other items for family needs of those staying at their respective house, they discovered that in the delivery boxes are wisely packed shabu and other illegal drugs.
The anti-illegal drugs operatives though could only thank some people in the community who are giving their support to the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. The tips provided by these good community residents are the most important basis of the authorities’ successful monitoring, apprehension of drug couriers cum delivery services providers, and confiscation of the multi-million pesos worth of illegal drugs.
Bringing the situation at the local level, the Davao City Police Office could not have been more correct when, through its spokesperson earlier said that only the active participation of the people in the community can make the campaign to rid the city, and the entire country for that matter, of illegal drugs succeed.
Yes, if people in the barangays will just be fence sitters of what is going on in their area, as if they see no evil or hear no evil in the activities of drug pushers and users, the police will be totally helpless in their effort no matter how serious they are.
We all know that the number of policemen in Davao City is far from enough if we have to be strict about the ideal police-population ratio. Add the size and terrain of the city and everything spells the failure of police operations in ridding the city of people who make a living from the illegal drugs business.
So we are one with the police in calling the barangay officials and residents to accept the challenge of the Davao City Police Office command to be engaged in the anti-illegal drugs campaign at the community level.
All they have to do is to be continuously vigilant of what is going on in their respective community. They have to make sure that when they notice the presence of some suspicious persons, delivery service providers included, in their barangay, they should immediately report their observations to the barangay authorities. If no action is taken then they can proceed to the nearest police station and tell the police about it.
Of course as reminder, the people in the community must act as one so that if they are confronted by any of those suspicious figures, they can leverage their number against the possible intimidation by those who realized that they are being closely watched by the people themselves.
Above all else, the people in the community must act without delay in reporting to the police the presence of suspicious characters before the latter get wind that they are being under closed watch.
