Philippine President Gloria Arroyo named herself as the country’s anti-drugs chief yesterday, saying she needed to step in to save the judicial system from being corrupted by narcotics traffickers.
Arroyo has ordered five state prosecutors to go on leave as the government probes claims they were offered bribes to dismiss complaints against alleged traffickers arrested last year in sting operations around Manila.
“Governments that delay action against illegal drugs or regard it as a routine police matter, do so at their own peril,” Arroyo told the Cabinet.
“A country awash with illegal drugs is a country compromised, its law and order institutions tainted and corrupted,” she said.
Arroyo said her government would push for an “unyielding and unrelenting war” against drugs.
“I will temporarily act as czar, or overseer, of the war against illegal drugs,” Arroyo said, adding that the campaign would include boosting law enforcement and prosecution.
The state prosecutors ordered to take leave are alleged to have sought to free three traffickers in return for millions of pesos (tens of thousands of dollars) in bribes.
Drug enforcement agents testified to a congressional inquiry against the prosecutors last week.
The US government has identified the Philippines as a major Asian transit point for drugs, including methamphetamines, heroin and ecstasy party pills.
Independent crime watchdogs say that while Manila in theory has among the region’s toughest drug laws — prescribing life in jail for traffickers —- law enforcement agencies are hobbled by corruption.
Manila police chief Leopoldo Bataoil said methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as “ice,” remained the illegal drug of choice in Manila, a metropolis of 12 million people, but that “ecstasy” was gaining popularity among the young upper classes.
“At present, [ice] is still the most preferred drug of abuse in the metropolis, followed by marijuana,” he said.
“Ecstasy is believed to be circulating in bars and night joints frequented by affluent young adults,” Bataoil said.
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
North Korean troops have started removing propaganda loudspeakers used to blare unsettling noises along the border, South Korea’s military said on Saturday, days after Seoul’s new administration dismantled ones on its side of the frontier. The two countries had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who is seeking to ease tensions with Pyongyang. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense on Monday last week said it had begun removing loudspeakers from its side of the border as “a practical measure aimed at helping ease
RSS