Editorial

A good start

RESPONDING to persistent allegations of bribery in a high-profile drug case, the President has appointed herself the interim anti-drug czar. We welcome her swift action but pray it goes beyond rhetoric and public relations and brings real reforms in the way law enforcement agencies and the Justice Department handle drug-related cases.

The figures are sobering: up to 78 percent of these cases filed since 2003 have gone unresolved. The latest scandal involving allegations that prosecutors were bribed to drop charges against three affluent drug suspects simply highlights the need for reform.

The President?s initial moves are encouraging. She has given a panel investigating the latest charges of bribery until Jan. 27 to submit its findings, and has ordered the prosecutors involved to go on leave while the investigation is being pursued.

The President has also moved to end the word war between the Justice Department and officials of the Drug Enforcement Agency, bickering that has all but sapped public confidence in the authorities involved in the war on drugs.

Notwithstanding charges of grandstanding, the President?s action of naming herself the anti-drug czar is significant and risky at the same time, because it makes her directly responsible for the success or failure of the government?s effort to combat the use of illegal substances.

On the balance, the President?s move to take a direct hand in anti-drug efforts is a promising first step, but just that?a first step. Persistent follow-through and the President?s own next steps will determine if her involvement will truly make a difference.

Stymied
When people call you ?Barok,? it?s hard to be taken seriously. Still, Louis ?Barok? Biraogo has made some very serious charges, against the Supreme Court and its chief justice, no less?charges that deserve to be heard and answered fully, without politics and paranoia getting in the way.

Reproductive health bill revisited
I am sure that upon the resumption of Congress on Jan. 19, there will be renewed efforts by contraception advocates to push for the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008, which in effect would institutionalize contraception to control the booming population. Advocates claim this is responsible for poverty in the country.

Angara?s initiatives
Education is getting a much-
needed boost under the P1.4-
trillion national budget for the current fiscal year. Originally, the Education Department was given a P156-billion budget in the spending program submitted by Malaca?ang to Congress. When the budget bill went to the Senate, DepEd received an additional P6 billion.

The quick action man
As far as the Valley Golf Club ?brawl? is concerned, it would seem that public opinion has shifted from support for the De la Paz family to the Pangandamans.

Three grands at the CCP
Can you imagine the kind of sensory and musical experience that can be produced by three grand pianos, three of the country?s noted pianists, and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra performing together in one stage? I couldn?t, so I went to watch 3 Grands: A Piano Celebration at the Main Hall of the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Friday, Jan. 9.