Demand and supply »Manila Bulletin News

Business Beat

By MELITO SALAZAR JR.

If one wants to stabilize the prices of a commodity, such as rice, one can treat both supply and demand. Increasing supply will drive down prices, while lower demand, from rice to maize grits, could also drive down prices. In the case of illicit drugs, the problem can be eliminated by reducing both supply and demand. That's what the illegal anti-drug campaign Duterte should have done.

As a priority, it seemed that the goal was to reduce demand. Drug addicts were asked to register with barangay and it was expected that those on the list would be rehabilitated. However, given President Duterte's rhetoric, the police seemed to have used this information to locate and eliminate the minor drug addicts. There were even allegations that the quotas had to be respected by the local police, otherwise they would be replaced.

The Duterte administration did not seem to want any effort in rehabilitation. Effective rehabilitation would require community-level efforts, funding for the construction of well-equipped centers with sufficient health staff, and appropriate guidance and training for family members. This would require tackling the roots of the drug problem, the main one being poverty. Rehabilitated drug addicts need jobs in a larger number of community businesses, created with government support in a business-friendly environment. Even family members needed some assistance to help their addicted addicts to heal completely.

Unfortunately, the Duterte administration was perceived to have reduced demand differently – physically eliminating drug addicts, gaining universal condemnation, and damaging the good reputation of the police. Yet it could have been otherwise.

Supply was also targeted, but it seemed that small hawkers were at the bottom of the distribution chain. The number of victims of the illegal anti-drug campaign has increased exponentially with the addition of suppliers of one or two packets of shabu. Some provincial "druglords" were arrested and one died under suspicious conditions inside the prison. Certainly, no "big fish" was caught, suggesting that it was not a priority.

However, the best approach to stopping the supply of illicit drugs is to catch those who smuggle billions of illicit drugs and their cohorts into the Customs Bureau and other government agencies. The presentations of recent weeks have shown the impunity of these officials and the promotion by President Duterte of the head of the BOC who was not able to prevent smuggling sends a bad message: personal ties are more important than the skill.

Given the warm relationship between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping, why do not the two countries sign an agreement that will force the Chinese government to inspect all shipments exported to the Philippines? Once the Chinese government has found illegal drugs, it has the legal basis to impose the death penalty, which the Philippines does not have. The Philippines may set up special courts headed by probity and integrity judges known for illicit drug offenses, to ensure speed of prosecution and conviction. Foreign nationals currently in prison should be immediately deported, as it has been proven that they continue to monitor their drug-related operations, even in prison.

It is time for the Duterte administration to deal with both the supply and the demand for illicit drugs if it really wants to solve the problem. It is time for the campaign to focus on "big fish".