“Electric vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-fed vehicles”
There is a proposal in Congress for the creation of a special court for drug-related cases following an increasing number of cases still unresolved by courts nationwide.
Santa Banana, would you believe more than 33,000 drug-related cases remain in the dockets of courts, congesting jails all over!
Courts handling drug-related cases are actually nothing new.
I recall during the incumbency of then president Ferdinand E. Marcos, the father of the incumbent President, illegal drugs were also a big problem.
I do recall that in addition to handling drug-related cases, these special courts also handled cases where parents voluntarily surrendered their children who were drug users and addicts, and it was then up to the courts to have them submitted for drug abuse rehabilitation to rehab-centers.
If this proposal to create courts for drug-related cases can succeed in an attempt to solve the illegal drugs problem, the building of community-based rehab centers must also be pursued.
One way of doing this is for BBM to have the government partner with the business community in building rehab centers.
Rehab centers cannot be built just like that.
They must be properly staffed with doctors, (particularly psychiatrists and psychologists) and nurses. This is where the problem lies.
In the case of DARE Foundation, in the 70s and 80s, it was only partly financed by government and business establishments. Reason why DARE didn’t last long enough. My services to DARE were gratis et amore.
What I’m trying to say , from experience, is the anti-illegal drug problem is multi-faceted.
It cannot be solved by the government alone without the private sector.
There will always be an illegal drug problem if there’s a demand for it.
It boils down to supply and demand. For so long as there’s a demand for illegal drugs, cartels around the world will always be there to supply that demand.
Until today, there are continuous cases of illegal drugs being confiscated and there are always attempts to smuggle drugs in.
In the final analysis, the illegal drugs problem will continue to be a national problem.
The only thing the government can do is to minimize it with the proper enforcement of laws so we can stop it from becoming a national threat.
In the meantime, the government can have community-based rehabilitation centers in cooperation with the business community.
We must remember that illegal drugs are also a problem in almost every country, much more so in highly-industrialized countries.
Rehabilitation centers must be community-based, since the recovery of a person from drug addiction depends largely on the support of his/her family, especially after the release of the person from rehab.
De Lima to help ICC?
An interesting aspect in the case of former Senator Leila de Lima, in the aftermath of her release after the Muntinlupa court granted her bail, is her statement she would help the Hague-based International Criminal Court in prosecuting former President Duterte who, the former senator claimed was responsible for her seven-year detention.
It would be interesting to know how and in what way she can help the ICC from probing further its case against Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity during his six-year term as President in connection with all the extra-judicial killings.
Considering that the Philippine government refuses to recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, it would be interesting to know how de Lima will help the Hague-based criminal court.
But, knowing De Lima and her attempt to hit back at Duterte, the ICC would really welcome the former senator’s help. Abangan, as they say, Santa Banana!
Electric cars
With more and more people buying electric motor vehicles, there is now a problem with the need for more electric hubs, not only in Metro Manila, but other cities.
Charging these vehicles at home would take overnight. This is the disadvantage of electric vehicles.
A friend told me that he’s sticking to gasoline-fueled motor vehicles.
Aside from this, electric vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-fed vehicles.