Sen. Bam Aquino : Duterte's drug war only targets the poor

Senator Bam Aquino just like his fellow opposition colleague takes a swipe at President Rodrigo Duterte.

Barely a day has passed when Senator Antonio Trillanes IV called Duterte war on drugs as “Fake”, Aquino a cousin of the former President also slams the dismissal of illegal drug charges against Peter Lim and self-confessed Kerwin Espinosa as concrete proof that the war on drugs only targets the poor.

A resolution that was dated December 20, 2017 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed the cases that was filed against Lim, Espinosa, and 20 other personalities.  *

Opposition Senator Bam Aquino slams the President's drug war (photo credit to owner)

“Sa pagpapalaya ng mga nahuling drug lord, klaro na ang tokhang ay para lamang sa mga mahihirap na Pilipino at hindi para sa may pera at koneksiyon,”  Senator Aquino said in a statement.

  “Ang hustisya sa bayan ay tila para sa iilan lamang at hindi para sa bawat Pilipino,” he added.

Aquino also questioned the value of the ongoing war on illegal drugs if the alleged sources of drugs are set free.

“Ano pa ang halaga ng pagpatay sa libu-libo nating kababayan, kung pakakawalan din lang ang mismong pinagmumulan ng droga?” Aquino said.

Last January the Philippine National Police revived its “Oplan Tokhang” to address the illegal drugs in the country, it was suspended when criticisms were so loud about the number of alleged drug personalities were killed during police operations.

In one speech, President Duterte clarified that he cannot only chose the rich people or high value targets and spare the poor in his war on illegal drugs since it can be conceived by his critics as a form of selective justice and its against the law.

“So if you are poor, I cannot do anything and say, ‘I will not arrest you, I will not kill you because you are poor’ — that would be selective justice,” the President said in a speech last January. *

Since the start of the anti-illegal drugs campaign, criticisms has hounded the President that it has only targeted poor communities which have led to a number of alleged extra judicial killings. 

In justifying the inclusion of everyone on the war on drugs, Mr. Duterte said “[t]he act of one is the act of all because it is a conspiracy. That is the law.”

“And my oath of office says that I have to enforce the law against everybody who violates the law,” the President added.

All those involved in the drugs trade should be held accountable and “the law says that the one who cooks, the one who distributes and the one who peddles the drugs are equally—equally—guilty,” he said.

Report from PDI