BY LAW, only certain acts or actions are clear grounds for any citizen to be investigated, arrested, or compelled to surrender, despite the vigorous push by the Duterte administration to crack down on illegal drugs use and abuse.
In free and democratic societies, the time-honored principle of due process upholds a person’s innocence, until he or she is proven guilty in a court of law. The principle cannot and should not be flipped into a person seemingly presumed to be guilty, until he or she is proven innocent by the police.
Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act Of 2002 imposes stiff penalties — fat fines and life in jail — on violators, after due trial. But nowhere is it written in the law that death is the most tragic fate that should befall alleged drug users and pushers.
WHAT CITIZENS SHOULD KNOW:
WHAT LAW ENFORCERS, AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES SHOULD KNOW:
