President Duterte and the War on Drugs

(By: Rica Mae S. de Guzman, Daniel Q. Coronia, Sharmila Joy V. Arenas)

Introduction:

A persistent problem facing our society is the use of the illegal drugs, such as
ecstasy, heroin, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Drugs use has several
adverse effects in our economy because it tends to increase the crime rate transactions
such as robbery, and other violent crimes. Also, it can ruin the lives of the drug users
and their families especially to the people that having a low standard of living because
when the drug user don’t have the money to support his habit, he will have the eager to
commit crimes and may neglect his responsibility to his family’s needs.

The issue of using drugs is very familiar in our country, Philippines, because
drugs is available and accessible for anyone who knows where to get it or whom to talk
to about it.

When Mr. Rodrigo Duterte won the 2016 Philippine presidential election, he
promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals, and urging people to make actions and to
kill drug addicts because there is a reward money for every drug addict they will kill . In
this case, he is surely confident that the drug users in our country will stop using drugs
and have a better life. However, there are some positive and negative externalities that
we might encounter.

Positive Externalities

 Reduce Crimes
The drug campaign can reduce crimes like robbery, rape and other violent crimes
because our government are now making actions to stop the issue and some drug
users are surrendering to the police.

People are involved in crime because of their heavy use of drugs and they commit
crimes to fund their drug use, it includes theft and prostitution. Not only in violent crimes
can reduce by the campaign of drugs but also in the production, manufacture,
transportation, and sale oB drugs.

 Reduce Teenager Addicts

Teen age years is the most challenging years in life, where you seek attention and
it’s like finding groups where you go and belong and most of the teenager this days are
using drugs just to fit in the social norms or to impress other people and trying to look
“cool” in our society.

The chemical changes in the brain that most drugs can create is depression or
worse suicide, one of the most devastating side effects of addiction, that teenagers
believe that drugs is not harmful.

Teenagers need to be educated about drug addiction to create awareness among

them and to help them make better choices in their lives. Also, when President Duterte
threat people who uses drugs because he is against of it, maybe the teenagers would
respond to what’s the president said because they are scared that they might get killed.
  Have a Healthy Living and More Time for Family

Drugs are poison after all because it makes you ill and kill you. Since drugs use up
your body's supply of vitamins and minerals, you become more prone to diseases. As a
result of their habit, many drug users suffer from malnutrition and it is costly to treat the
drugs’ side effects in our body. There are a lot of health benefits when individuals stop
the use of drugs.

When you are familiar to the commercial of a young girl celebrating her birthday and
asking her mother where her father is, her mother can’t say anything because her father
is busy using drugs. Time goes by, that little girl grew up and didn’t notice her father’s
presence and support to their family. In the last scene, there is a quote saying
“Kalimutan ang droga, bago ka nila makalimutan” because it’s like they don’t have a
father anymore. So when a family is a free user of drugs, it is a happy family because
they support and feel the love of each other.

 Police are now doing their job great

Compare in last administration, police are being more aware in illegal drugs. As of
now, there’s a lot of drug users who surrender theirselves to the police because they
respond to the killing of drug users and they don’t want to be part of it. Most of the drug
users want to change their lives and leave drugs.

Police are more focus in drug operations and they are doing their job great even if it
is risky in their life because they respond to incentives that when they are successful in
their operation against drugs, they might get promoted and be a well-known officer. Also,
police who are in related in drugs transactions are removed in their work and suffer
what consequences they get.

 More Tourist
When drugs and drugs users are decreasing, there are more tourist that will come in
our country because they will feel safe that no one will not try to hurt them. When
President Duterte is wiping out the drugs and criminality, it sends positive signal that our
country is shaping up in terms of improving the country's peace and order and safety
environment for both residents and tourists. In this case, tourists will respond to the
incentives and some investors will invest in our economy that may boost our economy’s
growth.

When our country is safe, more tourist will come. When more tourist will come,
Filipino businesses will provide services to the tourist and they will earn profit. In this
case, our GDP will increase and the demand for workers in the business will rise and
reduces unemployment rate. As a result, it benefits the country and the people.

Negative Externalities

 Lower High Education

"Kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan" all of us are aware with that saying but in our
generation today we're not even sure about that. Because of drugs there are many
minors who lost their chance to get a high education. They chose to be with their peers
and do unnecessary things.
 Studies show that usage of drugs for example, affects your attention, memory, and
ability to learn. Its effects can last for days or weeks after the drug wears off. So, if you
are using drugs daily, you are not functioning at your best.

Teens who abuse drugs have lower grades, a higher rate of absence from school
and other activities, and an increased potential for dropping out of school. Teens who
use drugs are more likely non-users to drop out of school and less likely than non-users
to graduate from high school, attend college or obtain a college degree.

 Destroy Family Relationship

Drug addiction can create destruction in all areas of your life, as well as the lives
of your love ones. It can cause damage that cannot be easily repaired. Addiction to
drugs can consume a large portion of your time, energy and focus that can cause you
making it as your priority and tend to have a little time to spend with your family.

The effects of drugs on your family may lead to separation with your partner. It
can cause an emotional damage, physical damage or even an unstable environment for
your children. You may suffer serious financing difficulties as well as your health may
even begin to deteriorate.

 Extrajudicial Killings
Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines are illegal

liquidations, unlawful or felonious killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines.

According to the survey, there are 4,375 users and pushers who were killed wherein
1,645 from police operations and 2,730 extrajudicial or those who killed by vigilantes.
Life is a gift but other people don't value it.

In the case here in our country, there are many innocent people who were
killed because they were point out as a pusher and user of drug. And those who are real
pusher and user of drugs, instead of giving them another chance to change they can't
have it because they were easily killed by vigilantes. Anti drug campaign increases the
rate of killings because of the stated reason above

Conclusion:

De Guzman, Rica Mae S.

A question is running in my mind, “When the war on drugs will end?” because as
you can see in TV or in the social media, War on Drugs is always in the trend, and that
you will find out that a drug pusher has been killed because he fights to the police when
he got arrested. As a result, this issue affects the bystanders.

There’s a lot of positive and negative in drug campaign of President Duterte. I

am in favor of wiping it out because we can more benefit from it. We know that drugs
can ruin a person life and in drug campaign it can save many lives. Drugs brought
nothing good. Imagine a world where there are no drugs. We wouldn’t have to fear as
much about crime. No more worrying about what you chose to try because it wouldn’t
drugs in it. Our country would be a better place less crime and less bad people in our
society.
Coronia, Daniel Q.

Today’s world is now different. Government is now fighting and searching for
drug users and some of the drug users are surrendering to the government and want to
have a new life, they call it “War on Drugs”.

In the campaign of our President Duterte, I am partially agree to his plan because
the benefit that you will get will exceed the cost. In this situation, people will cooperate
because they will respond to the incentives that they will feel safe and can save the life
of others however some of the people are doing it wrong because they’re putting the
law in their hands in which they kill people that are innocent and those were killed are
poor and have families.

As a whole, we can say that Government can sometimes make everyone better
off because our economy is rising since it attracts investors and tourist in which it raises
the health of our country or so called GDP.

In my opinion, I think that our president should always think carefully on what
actions will do and he should act as a decent president, because, we all know that he
won the election in getting the trust of the people with his powerful words and promises.
In the issue, it is the ‘life of the people’ we are talking about, and we have no right to
claim it because we are not the one who gave it to them. There’s a room for everyone
that wants to start a new life and killing them is not the only solution.

Arenas, Sharmila Joy V.

Our world today is full of cruelty indeed. Why do I say so? In television, social
media or even in radios all you can hear and see is about killings, robbery, corruption
and other crimes wherein one of the main reason why this is committed is because of
drugs. As we all know, our government today is making a big step as well as impossible
thing whereas they are trying to make Philippines as a drug-free country. Well, for me
making our country as a drug-free is impossible. There are many pushers who are good
at playing hide and seek, users who are good in influencing others and suppliers who
are good in sales talk as well as passing through drug trafficking.

"War on Drugs" is a campaign of our President Durerte. If you're going to ask

me if I'm in favor of it, yes I am, though for me it is impossible to be a drug free country.
I am living in this country that is why I support his campaign. If in the end it will not going
to be successful then atleast it lessen. Everything we are doing is a tradeoff. We cannot
say that if government became successful with that campaign they are the only one
who's benefited. Because what the government is doing has an externalities, positive
and also negative as well as we in the society, every action we make has an
externalities.

I therefore conclude that, we, the government can make a change for our
country, but I want to suggest that start at the smaller ones, start at the easier one.
Because honestly speaking, there are many countries who also did the anti drug
campaign but sad to say they failed but there are countries who passed it but achieved
it at the long run. War on drugs is really hard. It's not like when you talk to them they'll
stop. It's a process wherein you need to do it pieces by pieces, part to part until you can
make it as a whole.