By Gabriela Baron

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) on Saturday appealed to the public and media to stop generalizing members of the Filipino Chinese community as peddlers of illegal drugs.

“We wish to clarify certain media reports which link Filipino Chinese to illegal drugs. We appeal to media and other sectors to refrain from generalizing that members of the Filipino Chinese community as peddlers of illegal drugs and inadvertently besmirching our community’s reputation,” underscored FFCCCII President Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong said in a statement.

He added that the “handful of wrongdoers or bad apples” should not affect the rest of the community.

The FCCCII assured that ethnic Chinese community members in the Philippines are “law-abiding citizens, legitimate business people, and conscientious in upholding rule of law.”

“Let us be more careful in making public statements that may unnecessarily create rancor, conflicts and misunderstanding, and promote unfair stereotypes,” Liong continued.

The group also assured that they support the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“We join the government and our law enforcement agencies in condemning and working towards eradicating the menace of illegal drugs as a moral scourge, a threat to public health, and the socio-economic stability of the Philippines,” it added.

The FFCCCII reiterated that they have been supporting the government’s efforts to rehabilitate drug users through donations of rehabilitation centers in Candelaria, Lucban, and Mulanay in Quezon Province; Tagbilaran, Bohol; Island Garden, City of Samal, Davao del Norte; Mati, Davao Oriental; and Surallah, South Cotabato.

The chamber made the statement following Vice President Leni Robredo’s, and now co-chair of the Interagency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) remark saying that the government should look into reports that bulk of the shabu (methamphetamine) being sold in the Philippines comes from China, as most of those arrested for operating the drug trade were Chinese nationals.

READ MORE: Robredo eyes drug info from China