The Drug Corporations that Kill

 

His name was Arnel. He was a bright, intelligent, fun-loving student and he was brilliant at math. He wanted to be an engineer and work in the US Navy Base at Subic Bay. He was my student. But the fun and happiness went out of Arnel's life, like that of so many other bright students when his parents broke up. His father had found a bar girl from one of the hundreds of sex bars that was the only employment provided by the city administration to their eternal shame in those days.

 

It was sin city and the US sailors had to have their Filipina sex slaves, children and women and drugs. It was a wild hedonistic town filled with erotica and child and woman and drug abuse as seldom seen. That was one of the reasons I started and led a successful campaign to remove and convert the US bases to an economic zone. Despite rampant corruption at the start, it is now a resounding success.

 

Family breakups and divorce are devastating for the children. They feel abandoned, confused and depressed. Ariel became despondent, deeply sad and filled with deep emotional pain. The shame of his father's abandonment and hedonistic life hurt him. He stayed away from his friends, his concentration in class dropped, he lost interest in studying, became moody and despondent.  He sought a damaging refuge in smoking marijuana. He was soon addicted.  Like millions of people around the world, they are in pain, emotional and physical pain, frequently caused by the infidelity, betrayal, and the rejection of others. Many reach for drugs- legal and illegal.

 

They see using pain killers as a form of self-medication. But it is a short fix but the pain remains. That is what causes addiction. Arnel's addiction and that of many others of my students in St. Joseph's High School, Olongapo City made me determined to provide a refuge and rehabilitation center for the young drug dependents. The Marcos regime had started to shoot them in the hateful Marcos war-on-drugs.

 

I began the Preda Foundation 45 years ago in 1974 to give sanctuary and rehabilitation to the youth who found drugs their only refuge. Hundreds of youth and children who are in dire circumstances are being helped until today. Arnel was cured and became an engineer.

 

Millions of pills and tablets are prescribed daily and millions more are available illegally on the black market. Drug pushers and distributors are everywhere only too willing to get a new customer. One of the biggest alleged drug pushers that are said to be destroying thousands of lives are the pharmaceutical corporations.

 

They are accused for making powerful pain-killing drugs and then distributing them without care or warning that they are powerfully addictive and that over-use can cause death. In the United States alone, those that died from a drug overdose of prescribed and illegal drug use was 16,849 in 1999 and in 2017 it had reached 20,237. In Canada, more than 10,300 Canadians died as a result of an apparent opioids-related overdose between January 2016 and September 2018. More Americans have died from drug overdose than in the Vietnam War. There is at least 400,000 Americans dead in the past twenty years as a result of overdose. The various drug companies are pushing their dangerous drugs by giving gifts to doctors to prescribe them frequently. It continues to create addictions. Johnson & Johnson has been accused in a court case in Oklahoma of causing an epidemic of drug deaths by "a cynical, deceitful multi-million-dollar brainwashing campaign." This was to spur sales and promote use of its powerful pain-reliever drug, fentanyl, a killer drug that is over-prescribed. It is "the worst man-made health crisis in the history of the country and the state." Oklahoma's attorney-general, Mike Hunter, told the court. There are about 2000 other court cases pending in the USA against drug corporations.

 

Cannabis or marijuana is one of the most widely used drugs in the world today. That is the drug that Ariel fell for and its effects on him were frighteningly traumatic. The inability of authorities to control the availability of cannabis has caused some few governments to legalize it. This, some say, will take the criminality out of its use or possession and keep teenagers and youth out of jail and hopefully it will reduce crime rates and de-populate prisons. But it's addictive and people will steal to buy it. In the Philippines, the law is draconian. A person in possession of a small amount can get 12 years in prison. A suspect in possession of a small amount of crystal meth, a powerful drug, can be shot dead in a fanatical campaign to end drug abuse.

 

The growers have developed stronger and more potent strains and varieties of the plant that are now ever more dangerous than before.  A recent research study showed that teenagers who smoke marijuana frequently suffer a slow-down in brain development. This extraordinary finding of the research that involved 4,000 students in secondary school in Canada showed that the ability to think and figure out problems had greatly deteriorated. Frequent smoking also created dependency and weaker self-discipline of the students. They fell almost three years behind their non-smoking classmates. It is more damaging and toxic to the brain than alcohol. It can cause euphoria and after a pot session, depression follows.

 

In another study, it has been confirmed that the active chemical in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal active ingredient can cause schizophrenia. Killing suspects is not the answer. Drug use is a health challenge and we have to care and help all those addicted by the pharmaceutical companies or irresponsible use of pain killers.

The Scourge of HIV, the Internet and Sex Tourism

It was a day of courage and resilience for Isabel, a 14-year old child who could not endure the pain and hurt and fear of sexual abuse by her grandfather any longer. Despite threats against her and her sister, she told her classmate what was happening in the house of their grandfather. The classmate bravely told her mother and that mother knew what she had to do. She had attended a Preda Foundation child abuse preventive and reporting seminar and she sent a text message about the abuse to the Preda hotline.

Immediately, the Preda team was mobilized and went to the rescue of the children. The grandfather was arrested last 17 July and detained and he was arraigned this 16 August 2017 in the Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City for the alleged rape of his two granddaughters aged 11 and 14 years old. It was later discovered when the children were taken into the care and protection of the Preda home for abused children that the seven year old youngest girl was also found to have been sexually abused, a medical examination showed. The horrific multiple rape of the children witnessed by his son led his son to rape them also.

When a female doctor conducted a child-friendly medical examination of the children, they were tested for HIV. This is new and necessary now because the spread of the HIV is so contagious and rampant that the Philippines is now having an epidemic. It is the fastest-growing HIV-AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region with 140 percent jump in new infections recorded, according to the Department of Health and the UN. In 2010, there were 4,300 reported cases in the Philippines but by December 2016 there were as many as 10,500 reported cases. The untold number of unreported cases will never be known but the number of infections can be estimated by multiplying the known cases by ten.

While the most vulnerable are young men in relationship with other men, the 15 to 24 years age range is the highest group with new infections. Many of these are still considered children under 18 years of age. The virus is present among sex workers and those men frequenting the sex bars. But the danger to children is now evident as the Philippines is fast losing its once long-held tradition of steadfast moral values. The belief in what is right and just is eroding as so many support the war-on-drugs where thousands have been reportedly killed, it seems.

The Philippine bishops are uncomfortable with the position of former conservative Pope Benedict allowing the use of condoms in circumstances where they could save the lives of HIV sufferers. Pope Francis supported the distribution of condoms to people prone to HIV infection especially when he supported the distribution of condoms by the Knights of Malta as a prevention of HIV and as a family planning solution (www.preda.org) .

The progressive Philippine bishops and priests are greatly doing their utmost to be heard and keep alive the moral values cherished by the Filipino people. The majority of conservative bishops recently elected the archbishop of Davao, Romulo Valles, a close friend of President Duterte to be head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. But there might be a watering down of the message when it comes to speaking on human rights and on behalf of the victims of the extrajudicial killings, the exploited women and children in the sex trade. Disgustingly, the  government allows it to grow and proliferate and issues permits to the sex bars.  

The church and government must do more to help drug dependents suffering from HIV-AIDS diseases as a result of drug-taking and needle sharing. The drug dependents have psychological and health problems, they are not criminals. The rich and mighty drug lords are the criminals and they have, by and large, remained untouched and safe.

The spread of child abuse in cybersex dens is a daily common occurrence. Children are at risk, according to the Department of Health. They see that child rape and sexual abuse have grown hugely in recent years and children are prone to getting infected with HIV. This and child pornography allowed to be freely accessible through the Philippine Internet Server Providers invite sex tourists from abroad to come and abuse the children on demand. This in turn convinces local men that it’s alright if the government allows foreigners to do it with impunity. So the rate of incest and child rape by live-in partners and pedophiles has increased and the testing of raped children for HIV infection will go on.

If there are any people with moral values and a conscience to help save the child victims, they must act and report abuse and help children.

The Vulnerable Children of the Philippines

The death of two small Filipino children caught in the gunfire of the vigilante assassins sent to kill suspected drug users and peddlers is an unfolding tragedy. The shoot-to-kill policy that has claimed as many as 2500 people marked as suspects and killed in the past few months is a descent into hell. 

Five-year old Danica Mae Garcia was shot dead when two men on a motorcycle stopped at the house of Maximo Garcia when he was having lunch with his wife Gemma and their two grandchildren in the village of Mayombo, Dagupan City. They opened fire as he jumped up and ran out the back. Danica, his granddaughter, was shot in the hail of bullets the assassins fired at Maximo. He was hit three times but survived and went into hiding. Danica died. Maximo had been called to the office of the barangay district official to confess he was a drug user and sign a paper. He said he had long stopped using.

Althea Fhem Barbon, four-year old girl from Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, died also in a hail of gunfire by police when they opened fire on her father Aldrick Barbon from behind while he was riding his motorcycle. Althea was sitting on the gas tank in front of him. The bullets passed through Aldrick’s body and hit the child. He died and so did Althea. He was listed as a suspect drug seller.

The shoot-to-kill is a policy that has divided the nation. There are those who want the police to uphold the constitutional rights of all and follow the rulebook of investigation and due process based on evidence. They want Universal Human Rights respected and the right to life upheld. They want the sanctity of their homes protected and safe from invasion without a detailed search warrant. They want their families protected from harm and violence and false charges and abuse of authority. They want a civilized society under the rule of law. They want their constitutional rights to be honored. 

There are those who support a shoot-to-kill policy where no evidence of a crime is needed to mark a suspect for a hail of bullets. No warrant or proof of guilt or innocence needed.  All those named as suspects are judged guilty by being on that list of suspects. The death list is a call to action by paid assassins, police and now under the emergency powers, the military.

Local district officials and law enforcers draw up death list based mostly on hearsay.  It is like the age of the inquisition. You will be called to confess your crime and sign a paper, that is your death warrant and you must accept the punishment. No trial needed. Such a policy has left anyone and everybody vulnerable to be listed as a suspect and marked for death.

The door is open to those with a grudge or an evil purpose against their rival, enemy or competitor to denounce them as a drug pusher. Then vigilante killers will shoot them and leave a placard with the words, “I am a pusher.” There will be no questions asked, no investigation. Case closed before it is opened.

It is a policy that has put the power of hearsay and the dubious list of suspects in the place of hard evidence. It has bypassed the rule of law and entered the realm of lawlessness. The gun has replaced the courtroom and the balance of right and wrong. There is no need to listen to the pleas of innocence or recognize the truth. No more the plea of guilty or not guilty, no more the presentation of evidence and the rebuttal. There is no place for reasonable doubt. There is no need for the passing of just judgment. It has already been made once your name is listed. Sentence is passed with a nod and a promise of payment and the motorbike killers target their quarry. Such is the process of extrajudicial execution. 

While the attention of government is apparently focused totally on the war on drugs, abuse crimes against children is increasing. The abduction of children by human traffickers who take them from their villages and pick them up on the streets and sell them into thriving and ever increasing sex bars and brothels goes on right before the authorities.

This is not new. It is the cruel sex slavery that is common and ongoing in the Philippines for fifty years. The rights of the children and youth are being violated daily in a slow, spiritual death and at times by physical death as illegal drugs and the HIV-AIDS spread among the enslaved young sex workers. The new danger of the Zika virus being passed by sexual transmission is also present.

The sex industry is run on illegal drugs. Shabu and other drugs are available in the sex industry, sex bars and brothels to elate the customers and keep the young girls docile and submissive. It is a business that is not a target of the war on illegal drugs. The girls are victims and can be rescued by the authorities, helped recover and testify against the operators and pushers. Justice will be done under the rule of law and not the rule of violence and the gun.

Helping Drug Dependents

Working for over twenty years helping drug dependents recover from abuse and addiction in a rehabilitation sanctuary for young people using chemical substances, I learned a few important things. First is that they are not criminals but in need of medical help and intervention. 

Drug abuse is a health issue. The most common answer given by the youth when asked why they began substance abuse is “To forget my problems.” But behind those answers, I learned about the causes and the nature of those problems they try to forget by substance use.

Substance abuse is trying to change bad feelings with chemicals. Millions of adults and young people are using alcohol, a legal drug to “forget their problems.” We need to be compassionate and caring of the substance user, not take a punitive approach of condemnation and punishment.

They are people suffering, hurting and with a troubled life. So the use and abuse of chemical substances is a form of self-medication for some. The use of substances ought not to be a criminal offense but a medical health issue. Those who use chemical substances need and deserve treatment, care and rehabilitation- not the death penalty.

Most of these dependents suffer from emotional relationship problems some are childhood problems- that cause pain that cannot be buried inside and “forgotten.” They will always be there until human compassion, help, understanding and therapy are found.

The suppliers, dealers and traffickers of the illegal drugs are the people who need investigation and legal action under the rule of law. They provide a quick pain killer “solution” for youth encouraging them to turn to chemical solutions to solve emotional and personal problems rather than seeking human help, understanding, care and support.

The most important thing that we have to understand is that substance abuse is not just about illegal drugs. It is also about legal prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco addiction- all of which can and do kill. There is nothing more painful or saddening than a cigarette smoker with lung cancer or someone dying of an overdose as happens at concerts and parties.

Some people abuse drugs and substance abuse for recreational purposes as if the absorption of dangerous chemicals into the human body was not harmful but helpful and joyous. So the economic forces that are campaigning to make some drugs such as cannabis legal are promoting it as harmless and playing down the dangerous health risk and ignoring that fact.

One day, the adverse effect of drug use- like that of alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco- kicks in and kills people after years of use. Cannabis is a starter drug and many youth begin to experiment but they get hooked and peer group pressure to use is overwhelming and is a more powerful influence than that of parents and family. They develop tolerance to a substance and in time the “high” they get becomes a “low” and they look for something stronger.

The causes of youth turning to chemical remedies to “forget problems” can be dysfunctional family, the alcoholic abusive father, the uncaring mother, sexual abuse in childhood, the separation of parents, drop out of school, the loss of dignity and status, abandonment, abuse in an orphanage, unbearable poverty and misery in a slum, or the painful breakup of a boy-girl relationship. The street youth and children are usually abusing cheap chemical inhalers like industrial glue.
 

For other young people the problem is a misunderstanding and arguments with unloving, busy neglectful parents who do not give good example and don’t inspire and encourage their children. These are all causes that lead the young people to suffer depression, causing them to leave home and finding a substitute “family” on the street or a peer group “gang.”

What can be done to help these young people deal with the problems and not resort to chemicals to forget their problems or to get high to overcome depression? The first step is to find a caring and understanding adult who has experience in counseling and listening to the young persons and enable them to bring out and express all their problems. Counseling and recovery centers are needed.

The young troubled-youth need “a friendly trusting shoulder to cry on.” It is the holding in of their problems and having no one to listen with understanding that causes so much stress and anxiety for youth and adults too. It drives them to drugs, alcohol or other escapist addictions.

In a therapy and recovery center, the youth can overcome drug dependence and find themselves and be empowered to have self-control and find a meaning to life. This can be accelerated and achieved through emotional release therapy where the young person has the professional help to express everything openly and fully in a therapy room. Family reconciliation is the next most important step and a return to a normal life. Whatever, the drug dependent can and must be helped and saved.