There is no denying that the massive proliferation of illegal drugs these days is not just a problem; it is already a monster evil lurking in every corner of the barangay, waiting to devour the future of society. The menace is growing uglier every day. More crimes are committed, according to a report, due to the influence of drugs in the lives of hardened or would-be criminals. Of late, police officials in Tagbilaran City have noticed a spike of carnapping incidents involving minors who have the penchant to steal motorbikes. During interrogation, young offenders have disclosed that they were being paid by their shadowy masters with ‘shabu,' for every motorcycle that they have stolen. Is shabu the new norm of awarding a criminal act? If that is so, government officials must start to panic. A shift of payment system in the underground world is a portent of a society becoming grimier.

Our government likes to parade its overused propaganda called “war on poverty.” Government programs are geared for empowering those in the grassroots level so that they can stand on their own and stop acting like perpetual beggars. Government has also engaged a war against human trafficking. Authorities have made scores of apprehensions in this type of war. Another more familiar war being waged by the government is the war on corruption. Who do not want to extinguish all Napoles-engineered pork barrel scam? We all do want it obliterated from our society. But there is one war, in fact the most important one, that we are not making any progress at all. That is the war on drugs. And many members of society, who are future victims of crimes induced by use of illegal drugs, want to play safe in this war.

National laws are mandating ever province to create an anti-drug council which will serve as a think-tank in the government's protracted war against drugs. In Bohol, we are not aware whether a provincial anti-drug council is functional. It was only lately that the City of Government of Tagbilaran has reactivated its anti-drug council. In the previous administration, such a council was foreign to the minds of the previous occupants of City Hall. And we want to congratulate City Mayor Baba Yap for breathing life to the city's anti-drug warriors. Let's go to the towns in Bohol. Are local government units (LGUs) organizing anti-drug councils in their municipalities? How many barangays in Bohol have formed a barangay anti-drug council? Many have forgotten that the war on illegal drugs is not a police concern. Every member of society is supposed to act as soldier or warrior who would help protect our province, town, barangay from the evil effects of illegal drugs. War on drugs? Such a lonely war.