Argumentative Essay

"Killing is not the solution"

In Todays society, Drugs have been known as a major issue that is needed to be dealt with. Many people who abuse the substance for money, exploitation, and enjoyment have run rampant around our city streets. That is why on May 9, 2016, newly elect President Rodrigo Duterte has sworn to tackle the drug problem by executing what he calls the “War on Drugs”. He vows to kill every single drug lord, dealer, and user in 3 to 6 months in order to solve the problem.

As of December, 2016, months after Duterte assumed office; police records show that 5, 882 people were killed in the “War on Drugs” in the Philippines. These do not include cases that are yet to be reported by the police. Of that number 2,041 drug suspects were killed during police operations from July 1 to December 6, while another 3,841 were killed by unknown gunmen from July 1 to November 30, according to a local website. Among the latest fatalities was a seven-year-old child on the island of Cebu, who was hit by a stray bullet on December 3, while unknown gunmen were chasing a teenage boy accused of selling drugs. 

Almost six months after President Duterte assumed office in June 30, the death toll on the war on drugs has reached to nearly 6,000. Recently, many human rights groups have criticized the President, denouncing him as “steamrolling the rule of law”. Catholic leaders and churches have also spared their shares of criticism against Duterte. When Duterte assumed office in June 30, he mentioned in his campaign that he does not care about human rights as quoted "I don't care about human rights, believe me."

As of December 31, 2016, records show a sum of 6,216 people that have been killed in the drug war. 4, 049 of those were victims of extrajudicial or vigilante style killings, while 2,167 were suspected drug personalities killed in police operations. Many families have lost their loved ones, many have yet to mourn since the bodies were yet to be uncovered, and many have yet to receive justice for being wrongly accused. Based on my observation for the past several months that this so called “reign of terror” has continued to progress in our country, I am deeply grieved and at the same time angered.

Of all the lives that have been lost due to killing without due process, of all the innocents that are accidentally caught in the crossfire because policemen believed that he will earn more if he kills more, of all the people who believe in God but support this, how could you be so hypocritical? Drugs are an issue but at the same time curable. There are many ways to rehabilitate a person who has already taken the substance. But unfortunately, our President is looking for an easy open way into the problem by mercilessly killing thousands who are yet to be confirmed as actual users. Based on my observations, this was never a war to begin with, but genocide.

Sources
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/rodrigo-duterte-human-rights-160806211448623.html

http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/145814-numbers-statistics-philippines-war-drugs