SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The menace of illegal drugs destroys precious lives and brings to mind the affliction it has on families.
This specter is vividly portrayed in an open letter addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte by a mother in grief whose 18-year-old son is a drug dependent undergoing rehabilitation treatment.
The sender, under the pen name: A Mother Who Will Not Give Up, Mothers Against Drugs (MAD), coursed the letter through Isidro S. Lapeña, director general of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The mother painfully witnessed the slow deterioration of her son from a loving and obedient youngster to a thief and a full-blown drug addict. In the company of countless mothers whose hearts were broken by the sight of their children who have fallen victims to the drug menace, she prayed that her son be given a new lease of life, and a proverbial gateway from bleak to a promising future.
“Mr. President, I fully support your campaign against drugs that have destroyed the lives of many promising young people. Do not be disheartened by people who criticize your campaign against the pushers and the drug lords. They just have to understand that you are doing this to rid the community of criminals who have preyed on the long suffering citizens for quite some time. Congratulations on your strong political will to exterminate these vermins. Better yet, have a public execution of these bad elements that have poisoned the entire country.
Human rights advocates will just have to accept reality,” says the letter.
“I personally believe that experience is still the best teacher. You cannot fully understand the situation until you experience them.
Especially from mothers who want nothing more than the best life possible for their children, they supported the present national anti-drug campaign in fear from the surrounding stigma of drug abuse on families,” the mother wrote.
In an effort to promote safe and drug-free communities, PDEA encourages the voluntary submission of drug users for possible treatment and rehabilitation, with the aim of weaning them away from illegal drugs and getting reintegrated into society as law-abiding and productive citizens.
By Bismarck Bengwayan
