How to make the drug problem disappear

So the war on drugs should be stopped just because 17-year-old Kian delos Santos was killed in cold blood by policemen?

Aw, c’mon!

Let’s face it. In any war, innocent civilians get hit in the crossfire.

Delos Santos happened to be in the wrong place at the time trigger-happy Caloocan cops wanted to test the lethality of their service pistols on drug suspects.

Those uniformed murderers should be punished to the fullest extent of the law but the government should not relent in its campaign to rid the country of the monstrous drug problem.

The problem with the antidrug campaign is that only the small fry get caught in the dragnet while the big fish seem to get away.

Of the thousands killed by the police, only two big-time drug personalities — Rolando Espinosa and Reynaldo Parojinog, both small town mayors — have been killed.

There are many more drug lords, most of them big-time politicians and prominent names in society, who are on the government’s drug list. Yet they remain scot-free.

Weeds keep regrowing, even more abundantly than the last, after their stems are cut but they die when uprooted.

The drug lords or traffickers are like the roots of weeds while small-time pushers and couriers are the stems.

The government is cutting off the stems by going after the small-time pushers and couriers.

If all the drug lords and traffickers are caught, the drug problem will disappear.

Isidro Lapeña, a retired police general who until lately headed the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), has been appointed to head the Bureau of Customs.

Lapeña replaced former Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, a blabbermouth who was unbelievably incompetent.

A man of few words, Lapeña was chosen from a long list of possible replacements for Faeldon because he is an action man, a doer.

Let’s hope he doesn’t fall into the snake pit at the bureau like most of his predecessors.

When Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, went to Puerto Princesa City recently, he was overheard telling policemen: “The Hagedorns have fallen out of favor that’s why you should go to work on them, especially Douglas.”

Bato was apparently referring to former Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn and his brother, Rep. Douglas Hagedorn.

And what did Bato mean by “trabahuhin sila” (work on them), referring to the Hagedorns?

I can’t speak for Douglas, who is allegedly a notorious character in Puerto Princesa City, but Edward was the best mayor the city has ever had.

Under Edward’s stewardship, Puerto Princesa boomed as a tourist destination. It was practically free of crime and drugs like Davao City under Rodrigo Duterte.

I should know: I am a part-time resident of Puerto Princesa.