VP Leni only needs a day

It is the blame game at its finest, or rather, at its worst. The administration admits to the colossal failure of the war on drugs after three years of non-stop killings. To distract the public and prove its incompetence, the Office of the Vice-President is challenged to solve the drug problem.

It is a trap because it an immense, hydra-like problem and the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) exercises no power or control over the drug apparatus of the government. There is even a deadline imposed — six months to undo three years of bad policy and bad people at the cost of thousands dead and lives destroyed.

We say to VP Leni, call the bluff and ask for a day with the necessary authority. Twenty-four hours is enough to lead by integrity and moral courage, common sense, and genuine concern for the innocent.

At sunrise of the one day, an Executive Order can be issued immediately transferring the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) of the discredited Philippine National Police (PNP) to its mother agency, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

This instantly resolves the inherent conflict of interest that paralyzes the IAS. Picture the head of the IAS summoning higher-ranked generals for malfeasance and misfeasance. It is only possible if it has the support of the DILG and of course the chief enforcer of the law of the land, the President, or in this case, the Vice-President for one day.

Witness the Albayalde incident, all this time the ninja cops were continuing to report to duty as cops with the cases against them frozen. Only a change of top leadership resulted in the swift resolution of the cases against them.

Then the Vice-President directs the DILG to do a case inventory of all administrative cases for resolution within 2019 consistent with the mandated periods. No delays, no influence peddling. Only independent judgment backed up by strong evidence following due process can begin the cleansing process of the ranks of the police.

Midway through the day, the DILG issues a circular prescribing the consequences for policemen who are relieved or put on floating status because of bad performance. Taking out station commanders is only meaningful if there is accountability. Merely rotating and reappointing them elsewhere makes the problem worse. They ought to be tagged, tracked, and monitored by the IAS.

The OVP next directs the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) to revoke all deputation of other law enforcement agencies. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is the only authorized office to enforce drug laws in the country. However, due to limited resources, it taps the police but with limited oversight or hardly any operational control. This is a continuing problem of the PDEA since its creation in 2002.

The DDB mandates new PNP units that are cleared by the IAS to report only to the PDEA. No other police units can operate on drugs. The current situation is every police unit operating for itself.

Toward the end of the working day, the OVP directs the NBI to investigate past and present Bureau of Corrections directors for any involvement in the drug trade. Three years to date, there is no new prosecution of any drug lord; there is only recycling of tainted officials that shout impunity.

Simultaneously, the Bureau of Corrections directs the tracking of convicted drug lords if they are still in the New Bilibid, in BGC, or elsewhere in the metropolis and moves them to the Davao Penal Colony, the only city in the Philippines that is free of the drug menace. Time and again, the drug business in our prisons makes the headlines for its brazenness — convicted to deal more drugs within a protected enclave in Muntinlupa.

As the sun sets, the OVP certifies as urgent the bill to unify the broken and fragmented prisons into a single correctional system and pushes for the passage of the new drugs law of 2020 that considers substance abuse as a public health issue and focuses enforcement against criminal syndicates and organized crime and not the raids on petty pushers and the extortion of users.

All these in a day’s work that exemplifies integrity and moral courage to do the right thing and to enforce the law without fear or favor, common sense to correct organizational dysfunctions and revise laws that are inadequate or wrongly designed, and care and concern for the people by respecting life.

Now that the challenge is on, who is man enough to do it? The bigger challenge is if the Filipino sees leaders setting the example, reads clear laws and policies, and hears of sincerity of efforts, the Filipino may ask for more than one day.