President Duterte feels that our most pressing problem is the drug menace and given the immensity of this problem, he should be given enough leeway to focus on his campaign to eradicate it.

In the first three months of his administration he has unquestionably dealt with the drug menace. News reports as well as op-ed pieces these past three months tell it all.

ADVERTISEMENT

The President confessed that he didn’t realize how severe and serious the country’s drug problem was until he became president. The PNP Chief, Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, has confirmed that the administration’s drug campaign has, as we write, already resulted in the surrender of 752,000 people and the arrest of another 22,000. And that from these numbers, 500 cases have been investigated and 200 deaths solved, while 300 cases against suspects have been filed. Considering the enormity of this problem, President Duterte may not entirely be blamed for his overwhelming concern about the issue.

There are, however, other problems bedeviling us, notably the poverty situation, which reportedly has now reached a record high, with 42 percent of Filipino families rating themselves poor. Since the vast majority of drug “personalities” are obviously impoverished, it can be said that poverty is a major cause of the drug problem.

Therefore, Vice President Leni Robredo should be given enough support, particularly at the barangay level she refers to as “laylayan,” in her efforts to address poverty. She has anchored her core advocacy—ending poverty—on the newly launched “Angat Buhay” by emphasizing the need for mercy and compassion in improving the lives of the poorest among us, “the 26 million marginalized.” They include particularly the 3.5 million coconut farmers who, together with their families, constitute a fourth of the Filipino population.

For four decades now, the marginalized coco farmers have waited to benefit from the levy funds which were unjustly exacted from their meager copra income during the martial law years. The last three decades have been spent on court litigation, trying to recover the coco levy funds. A portion, a substantial one, has been recovered as of today.

But another substantial portion has been lost, too.

Then Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales referred to the coconut farmers’ travails as “the biggest joke to hit the century.”

Even though the President and Vice President come from different parties, we trust that both will continue to work for the common good, relentlessly pursuing specific solutions to our pressing problems—especially those that afflict our coconut farmers who have been waiting more than long enough.

Both officials need our full support.

OSCAR F. SANTOS, president emeritus, Coconut Industry Reform Movement Inc.

ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe to Inquirer Opinion Newsletter

Read Next

EDITORS' PICK

MOST READ