On President Duterte's War on Drugs

-

By Menelito Mansueto (MSU-IIT) 

These past few days, we have read on the pages of one or two philosophical associations in the country, including the wall of some academics, accusations against Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc. As teachers, we should be the first when it comes to telling the truth. A reading of the published work by Dr. Maboloc in Princeton Theological Seminary's IBMR Journal under Sage, reveals the real score on his position. I quote:

"Duterte’s drug war is premised on the pursuit of the common good. The public understands that a hardline approach to criminality is a necessary part of Duterte’s strategy. But the notion of the common good cannot be an excuse for violating the ideals of individual liberty and human rights. The politics of nation-states may be a factor in terms of finding the logical explanation for President Duterte’s approach. But the killings of drug suspects cannot be justified because they violate the right to due process" (Maboloc 2022, p. 355)

Maboloc, who published ten papers on the Duterte presidency that culminated into the book Radical Democracy in the Time of Duterte, is clear in his position regarding the war on drugs. His position on Duterte, on the other hand, as mentioned by Wataru Kusaka, (2022) is based on a grammar of dissent meant to give voice to underrepresented sectors, most especially Mindanao. The same observation was suggested by Symel De Guzman-Daulat (2022) in her review of Maboloc's book in Budhi: Journal of Culture and Ideas. 

Maboloc (2022, p.355) adds that "many Filipinos believe that those involved in substance abuse should be given a chance to reform themselves. In fact, many who are involved in the illegal drug trade belong to poor communities. For this reason, some members of the clergy lament that the campaign against illegal drugs is in effect a war against the poor. Respect for people’s human rights is in fact consistent with preservation of the common good."

Clearly, the posts of some academics, who are quite unprofessional and without any substance, should be read with caution for being deceptive at best and a blatant lie at worst. It appears that some people have a myopic and outdated approach to the way things are done in today's world as they are stuck in their old and biased ways. Clearly, the negative views of some speak of a lack of innovation and the inability to adapt to the true nature of modern scholarship. 

Popular posts from this blog

Gazing into the Abyss of Political Decay

-
Image
By Prof. Menelito Mansueto (MSU-IIT)  There's a circus in town but we need to know who the real clowns are. The desecration of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is a manifestation of the way power politics operates in this country. The recent attacks on VP Sara Duterte is not very different from the old style of character assassinations. But it is KOJC Pastor Apollo Quiboloy who has become the proxy in the war between the House of Marcos and the House of Duterte. Now is the season of politics.  The storyline goes to show that once again Philippine democracy is the loser. Instead of spending on infrastructure such as the Mindanao railway or the Cebu - Bohol Bridge, billions of funds in the form of ayuda are used for politicking. We are wasting public resources on bad political habits and practices. The government is functioning like an organized crime syndicate where stealing public money has become rampant. But the story extends further.  What is appalling is that those who question the
Read more

What does it mean to be a Scholar?

-
Image
  By Menelito Mansueto, MA MSU-IIT  One of the heated issues in academia today is the ranking of scholars based on citations. It's only in the Philippines that getting cited is a source of scorn for some. So, let's look at the facts. Being cited means that other scholars are reading your work. It doesn't mean though that your paper has no value if it's not cited. A paper has several academic purposes. In the area of scholarship, however, if one claims to be an expert on a topic or a philosopher, it's important to consider the impact of your work among your peers, here and abroad. Internationally, top scholars have thousands of citations, which makes them influential in the field. In the Philippines, especially for Philosophy, it's quite an achievement to be recognized by your peers. We can mention two names, Jeremiah Joaquin and FPA Demeterio, both from DLSU. JJ has 594 citations while Demeterio has 395 citations. JJ's work is on analytic philosophy while De
Read more

Filipino Philosophy or A Filipino's Philosophy: Clarificatory Notes

-
Image
By Dr. Noel S. Pariñas Yes, the title is an exclusive disjunction, but it can be reformulated as a conjunctive statement as well. Obviously, the first disjunct is different from the second disjunct. Since the disjunctive statement is not tautological, the alternatives cannot replace each other. When the disjuncts are used synonymously and interchangeably, a philosophical problem would necessarily arise. Such a philosophical problem will give birth to debates and conflicting views without a definite path towards the possibility of resolution except when the context is made clear. There are philosophies in the Philippines; there are Filipinos doing philosophy; there are Filipino philosophers; there are Filipino philosophical writings; and every Filipino embraces an existentially personal philosophy. All these things mentioned are not materially equivalent to Filipino philosophy. Neither the above-mentioned can be logical grounds to justify the existence of the so-called Filipino philosop
Read more