SONA 2018: A REACTION PAPER

SONA is an annual event here in the Philippines where the key policies, programs and the initiatives of the government are discussed. Last July 23, 2018, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has delivered his third SONA where he began his speech through emphasizing on his government's top campaign - the war on drugs. He also stated that the war on illegal drugs will not be sidelined. Instead, it will be as relentless and chilling as on the day it began.

War on illegal drugs has always been a hot issue here in the Philippines since many lives were wasted just to take the criminals behind the bars. It started when Mr. Rodrigo Duterte campaigned for president; he claimed that drug dealing and addiction were major obstacles to the Philippines' economic and social progress. At first, I was so delighted knowing that someone is pursuing a relentless war on illegal drugs but when it resulted to awful and large-scale violations of human rights I've realized that how he conducted his campaign was so wrong. He encouraged the public to "go ahead and kill" drug addicts but some understood his statement as an endorsement of extrajudicial killings, that it has created conditions for people to feel that it's appropriate to kill drug users and dealers. People who are not related with drugs should feel safer since the main cause of crimes or the so-called drug addicts are being eradicated but how can they feel safe when innocent lives are spared just because of police falsifying evidence to justify the unlawful killings? Research has found that police are disproving evidence to justify the unlawful killings but despite of the growing calls for an investigation Mr. President has pledged to continue the campaign.

There were lots of issues discussed in our president's SONA but this issue - war on illegal drugs has caught my attention. Our country is a mess right now because of the extrajudicial killings but we cannot exclude the fact that the criminality rate has dropped and that the president's campaign is useful but it should be done through a safe process. I know for a fact that Mr. President wouldn't stop his campaign even if we rant and complain about it but we shouldn't turn blind.

References:
https://www.cfr.org/interview/human-rights-and-dutertes-war-drugs
https://brainly.ph/question/1019189
https://www.thesummitexpress.com/2018/07/president-duterte-sona-2018-highlights-review-reaction-paper.html
https://untvweb.com/news/key-points-in-dutertes-sona-2018-rice-taxes-and-war-on-drugs/
https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-human-rights-consequences-of-the-war-on-drugs-in-the-philippines/
https://www.coursehero.com/file/19137470/essay/