Chesca “BBM’s anti-drug policy more effective and humane  – Barbers

A lawmaker from Mindanao today lauded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s pivot from bloody to bloodless anti-drug drug campaign, saying this has completely stopped abuses committed by anti-drug law enforcers who acted in the past as accusers, judges and executioners of suspected drug traffickers, addicts and users. 

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said the current administration’s anti-drug approach is more effective and humane and thus far achieved more than the desired results without resorting to extra-judicial killings. 

“Ang kampanya laban sa droga nuong nakalipas na panahon ay parang “pitik bulag” na naglikha ng maraming mga naulila na pamilya, na ang mga anak o kampag-anak na suspect sa droga ay di  ipinasailalim sa batas at hustisya,” he said.   

Based on reports, Barbers said the official tally indicated there was a total of 6,229 drug personalities killed via extrajudicial killings as of March 2022 while human rights groups estimated there were more than 20,000 civilians killed carried out by the past administration and its supporters. 

In 2022, outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte urged his successor Marcos Jr, who won in the 2022 presidential race, to continue the war on drugs in “his own way” but the latter declared to focus more on prevention and rehabilitation, saying “extermination was never one of them.” 

During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Marcos Jr. reiterated his policy that he “would adhere and continue to adhere to the established aegis of anti-illegal drug policy and that extermination was never one of them.” 

Barbers lauded the current bloodless anti-drug campaign, with law enforcers conducting 71,500 operations, seized P44 billion worth of illegal drugs, and the arrest of 97,000 drug personalities, with more than six thousand of them high-value targets, 440 government employees, 42 of them uniformed personnel and 77 elected officials. 

The President also disclosed that the current anti-drug campaign has also resulted to the freezing of assets or suspected bigtime drug traffickers worth more than P500 million and with the conviction rate of 79 percent against those charged in court for illegal drugs. 

“On our part at the Lower House, our panel continues, and still continuing to amend Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act, to refine further and identify its flaws and loopholes, to effectively carry out the government’s anti-drug campaign, particularly against protectors, coddlers and financiers,” he said. 

While the government focuses on prevention and rehabilitation against drug suspects, Barbers urged concerned anti-drug authorities to also focus more on supply reduction than demand reduction. 

“Yung mga drug addicts o mga gumagamit occassionally ay mahirap pigilan bumili kung available ito sa merkado, lalo na yung mga may pera na kabataan. Kung pipigilan at huhulihin natin ang mga ito, tama, bababa ang demand reduction. Pero kung walang supply, di na natin sila kailangan pigilin at hulihin kasi wala silang mabibili at magagamit,” he explained. 

In a report made by the US International Narcotics Control Strategy in 2010, the agency estimated that the illegal drug trade in the Philippines is at $6.4 to $8.4 billion annually. 

Owing to the country’s geographical location, international drug syndicates, many of them members of Chinese drug triad, use the Philippines as a transit hub for illegal drug trade, using local drug syndicates and gangs as drug “mules” to transport drugs to other countries. (30)

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Chesca All POGO enablers could now be “displeased and displaced” – Barbers 

The total ban on Philippine Online Gaming Operators (POGO) ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday has effectively placed in disarray all POGO-linked politicians and other government officials or the so-called Makabagong Makapili who are banking on the online gaming firms’ financial support in the May 2025 elections, a lawmaker from Mindanao said. 

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said with the POGO ban, it is imperative for all concerned government agencies to immediately conduct a crackdown on all illegal and previously legal POGOs and stop their operations. 

“We lawmakers laud President BBM’s decision to immediately ban POGO operations in the country. The various social harm brought by POGO to us far outweighs the little economic contributions they made to our economy,” he said. “All those POGO workers who violated our laws should not be left unpunished,” he added. 

The marching orders of the President on POGO, Barbers said, should be carried out immediately and properly by all concerned government agencies such as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, Bureau of Immigration, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Department of Labor and Employment, among others. 

He said the President’s directive would surely hurt financially local politicians and other government officials called “Bagong Makapili or Chinese enablers” who earned various perks and privileges in the past for turning a blind eye despite the social menace brought in by POGOs.  

The lawmaker from Surigao del Norte said the privilege speech he delivered in November 2019 against POGO operations appear to be “prophetic” as he warned then that the Chinese-operated online gaming firms could become an avenue for illegal drugs trafficking and money laundering schemes. 

“Aside from illegal drugs and money laundering activities, what the Filipino society saw from these POGO operations were various criminal activities, and they include wire fraud, investment scams, kidnapping, murder, prostitution, human trafficking, among others,” Barbers said. 

“We should not just let go of these POGOs. We should also investigate deep, prosecute and jail all their workers who committed various crimes. They all deserve appropriate punishment under our laws,” he added. 

Aside from those crimes, he said other unscrupulous Chinese nationals have managed to play around with Philippine laws, bribing their way in and out of mess, obtain fraudulently acquired Filipino identification, and pose as legit Filipinos transacting local businesses such as real estate firms. 

“Pinag-aralan na nila and kahinaan natin at nang ating mga batas at na solusyonan nila ito sa pamamagitan ng pera. Hindi naman lahat, pero maraming pagkakataon na may ebidensya na ang ilan sa ating mga kababayan ay kayang-kaya nila suhulan ng pera,” Barbers said.

He cited the case of one Chinese trader identified as a certain Willie Ong who is believed behind the shipment of 560 kilos of shabu worth P3.6 billion in September last year. 

“Ong managed illegally obtain a Filipino passport, an LTO driver’s license and other government-issued identification cards. He and his Chinese cohorts used it to establish Prime 999 realty firm and bought in cash a total a 320 “titled prime lots” in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and other parts of the country,” he said. 

According to Barbers, he and the members of his committee would continue with their on-going probe against Willie Ong and all his alleged known cohorts in their illegal drug operations in the past. (30)