The Philippine ‘drug war’ is actually a post-truth massacre
The Easter pause helped me think more about the suffering and deaths in the “war on drugs” that has likely made the Philippines the world’s bloodiest, most ruthless and most frightening country that isn’t at war.
And the more I thought about the man waging it, the more I was convinced of the following:
President Duterte hasn’t studied the drug problem to any appreciable depth. He has made it his principal focus, and yet he has never elaborated on it, never elucidated its extent or the damage he says it has caused. His statement that “drugs are destroying this country” appeals to the emotions, but where are the facts?
The lone statistic he has given – “four million addicts” – has never been substantiated and may well be untrue. No validation has come from the Philippine National Police, the Department of the Interior and Local Government or the Department of Health. A valid number could be derived only by proper quantification, using verified nationwide data. No such process has been reported, and maybe there hasn’t been one. If no quantification has been done, then where did the “four million” figure come from? My guess: He made it up. It was one of the first of the false facts in that have since proliferated.
So, what is the basis for the “war on drugs”? (Also, how can it be a “war” when only one side is armed?) The destruction that we have seen – thousands of human lives obliterated and wasted – is the horrifying response to what ugly truth? Possible answer: No truth, just an impression in the mind of someone who isn’t in the habit of thinking in-depth about anything.
The darkest of horrors have come to us from a mere impression? Heaven have mercy!
For the sake of the victims and their families, I hope I’m wrong. It is very painful for anybody to lose a loved one to murder, but it would be absolutely unbearable to have a loved one be murdered for false reasons.
Atis Altamirano
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
