Herbie Gomez  I CAN appreciate this government’s passion to rid the country of illegal drugs. I am willing to concede that the President and his police chief, Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, are sincere in their war on drugs. Passion and sincerity however are not enough to address the drug problem. Government has to go down to the roots of the problem, and uproot these. The last thing this country needs is chivalric justice similar to medieval Europe where the accused were subjected to trial by ordeal--by fire, by water or by combat, etc.. It was a period when people, on mere suspicion of wrongdoing, had their hands bandaged after being made to hold red hot iron bars. The verdict was handed down after three days--one was declared innocent if the wound got any better; if not, he was guilty! Or one suspected of witchcraft was tied up and then thrown into water. If she floated, she was guilty; if she sank, she was a witch! Or a rich man accused of a crime was made to fight in combat with his accuser. Whoever won was telling the truth; whoever lost lied and was dead at the end of the fight. Mind you, the people who held positions of authority during that dark period in human history were actually convinced that they were doing the right thing for the good of the majority of their subjects in their communities, villages, towns or territories. Their passion and sincerity were beyond question, too. I am glad that General dela Rosa apologized for telling civilians: “You know the drug lords here, right? Go to them. Douse their houses with gasoline, then set them on fire. Show them your anger.” It’s a consolation to know that the country’s top cop realized how wrong that was, and that it was simply out of line. It must have occurred to him that arson is a crime, too, just like extrajudicial killings, and that there is no way the government can address the drug problem by encouraging mob rule or by committing more crimes. The President already identified the problems, and he is correct in pointing out what’s wrong with the criminal justice system. This system is problematic, and that is why it takes a lot of time for law enforcers to secure warrants from the court. It must be frustrating on the part of law enforcers. Citizens are frustrated, too. The criminal justice system is the problem. So fix it. Reform it. Fix the five pillars of the criminal justice system--community, law enforcement, prosecution, the courts, and corrections/penology--and institute the needed radical reforms. If they’re slow and inefficient, then do something to make them fast and efficient with the help of Congress and the judicial branch. It’s not going to be a walk in the park but if the Duterte administration would just care to rechannel its passion and use its energy in order to aggressively address the real problem, I think it can succeed in its war on criminality, not just on illegal drugs. It can actually institute radical reforms without the need of encouraging or resorting to the ongoing bloodbath. Again, no one is questioning anyone’s sincerity and passion. But we have a beef with the methods we are seeing. The President asked what he was supposed to do to address the problem. Well, for starters, he can fix the criminal justice system. By doing that, he would strengthen the institutions needed in waging a successful war not just on illegal drugs. (There are other crimes in this country other than illegal drug sale and use.) Make crime a highisk undertaking in the country by fixing the system. Make the reforms institution-based and not personality-based so that when the President and General dela Rosa are no longer around, crime will still be a highisk undertaking. The problem with introducing personality-based solutions is, when you remove the personalities from the equation, the policies and priorities could easily change, and the government could backslide. Again, fix and institutionalize radical reforms in the five pillars of the criminal justice system, and make them function properly and fast. Citizens want to see law enforcers and prosecutors build solid cases against criminals as quickly as possible. We want to see courts handing down verdicts in weeks or months and not years. And we want convicts serving their sentences and paying for their crimes not six feet under the ground where they can rest in peace but in jail. The comfort that the grave provides is the criminal’s greatest escape. I support any war on illegal drugs and good law enforcement. What I do not support are accusations without evidence and unlawful killings. Why is that a problem? Pastilan.