In Quezon, pushers find barely any choice in staying alive

LUCENA CITY—Pushers in Quezon province have found themselves caught in the middle of a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation as the war on drugs gets bloodier under the Duterte administration.

At least two confessed pushers described their situation to the Inquirer as locked in a deadly tug-of-war between drug lords demanding remittances and authorities demanding information.

They also confirmed information that assassins hired by drug syndicates are behind the murders of some pushers in Quezon.

“I am scared of the police. I am also scared of my boss. He warned us against against turning ourselves in. He’s scared that we would reveal him,” said one of the sources, a pusher, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

The other source, who earlier turned himself in to the police, said he is preparing to leave his village with his family for their safety.

“I do not want to end up like my colleagues who were killed in their own homes,” he said.

“If you surrender, the shabu supplier will distrust you. If they learn that you gave the police information on the drug trade, your days will be numbered. If you are on the drug list and you did not surrender, you may be killed by policemen or vigilantes,” one of the sources said.

Senior Supt. Antonio Yarra, Quezon police director, said police information showed an ongoing purge in the illegal drug industry.

“They are now killing each other,” Yarra said.

The Inquirer’s sources also disclosed a shortage of shabu due to continuing police operations. To fill the gap, some pushers mix shabu with alum.

“Soon, they will be killed by drug addicts they are fooling,” one source said.

Quezon police records from July 1 to 30 showed that at least 33 people had been killed in drug-related shootings—seven of them in gunfights with policemen and the rest by unidentified suspects.

Police recorded 1,331 confessed pushers and 12,080 users who surrendered in the province’s 39 towns and two cities.

Yarra called on local government officials to provide livelihood, medical and other forms of assistance to pushers.

He said local governments and the Department of Social Welfare and Development can provide “cash for work” or “work for food” programs to people who surrendered and want to reform.

“What is important is for these people to feel that the government is sincere in wanting them back in the mainstream and start a new life,” Yarra said.

Yarra urged barangay officials to involve them in productive activities like daily exercise, tree planting, vegetable gardening and cleanup campaigns to keep them busy.