THE WAR VS DRUGS  went fever pitch one-week into the presidency of Rodrigo “I Hate Drugs” Duterte.

Over 100  drug suspects have died. Thousands, knowing  the lynching party is near, have surrendered. The nation is at a loss where to house these surrenderees. Or how to rehabilitate them.

Tough-necked PNP chief “Bato” de la Rosa had warned druggists and their protectors to wave the white flag or he will change  all their birthdays  to “Nov 2-  “All Soul’s Day”.

Drug business  is a fabulous business of P500-B a year. If you do not know what that means-  think that the entire national budget of the Philippines is only P 3-Trillion. a year.

The drug trade thrives because there is demand for it. There are 10 million Filipinos addicted to the prohibited substance. Such huge  money is able to import or manufacture drugs -big time- and the marketing arms are the drug lords and their hundreds of pushers.

In communities were they are most heavy- be sure they have the protection of the police, public officials and conniving judges and prosecutors. Let us call a spade a spade.

President Duterte will soon send a battalion of soldiers to raid and crush the massive shabu laboratory in the national penitientiary- the Bilibid prison. This has been a major source. The last few days shabu drug labs in a resort and in Laguna yielded bags of heroin worth P1.8-B and P 2.0-B respectively.  There is evidence  as to the claim of its magnitude.

The president  has since  declared the drug menace as a “national security risk” so he can use the army- alongside the police- to battle the drug syndicates.

“Bato ” will send erring cops/protectors/users to do war vs the ruthless Abu Sayyafs in Mindanao. There is another  move to jail them all together in a remote island like an Alcatraz where  their next coming back to normal society is next to impossible. Of course, there is the move to restore the death penalty.

Meantime, the  drug lords have united and are  allegedly raising P1-B for the heads of Digong and “Bato” Also in the “hit list” are senator Leila de Lima and Bucor chief Raineir Cruz. The stakes are  indeed getting higher and all is fair game from hereon.

In Bohol 3,000 are expected to surrender after the province-wide “Tok-hang” -  of knocking  at the doors and requesting the  evil doers of drug to stop cleanly. If they persist- Nov 2 birthdays  may happen.

Last year, a vigilante group  in Bohol was suspected to have eliminated drug personalities almost serially. This year the cops are deeply involved. Both vigilantes and the cops have long been frustrated wherein the niceties of the law had laid the red carpet for drug offenders to waltz their way  to freedom.

Take the case of drug lord Sherwin Bautista. Only a hail of bullets snuffed his life after being arrested twice  already in 2011 and 2014. Ask the cops and the judges why Sherwin became  a free man before he was  shot near the Tiptip elementary school last week.

Classified information yesterday  disclosed that these drastic steps at assassination of drug dregs here  was resorted to due to the failings of justice and order in the country.Well meaning crusaders reportedly funded the anti-drug movement here.

Provincial Police director Agustin charged earlier that there are  (seven) police officers in the province who are allies of the drug network. He should name them to his successor and the  public officials abetting their nefarious activity.

Still, there are some drug lords still holding forth here. Are they “untouchable” or are they all in the “pre-departure” status to hell?

From an almost crime-free province,  sadly Bohol is now a drug-infested province.Any official who tells you otherwise lives in another dimension filled with fairy tales.  And why not?

Duterte has already  named two ex regional police directors of Region 7 -General Marcelino Garbo and Vicente Loot as “drug protectors”. It was in Garbo’s wake and Bohol under provincial PNP director Constantino Barot that drugs began to seep in every available crevice in the Bohol body politic.

Reliable sources said Garbo allegedly told his men to “stay off drug operations, concentrate on illegal gambling.” and threatened those who will not follow to be re-assigned.  It was a good thing that upon citizen warning bells to the Palace Garbo did not get to become  PNP chief in his lifetime.

Duterte, a lawyer and prosecutor , has the goods on them ,legally. That is why he is not scared to name names . The due process is through the Napolcom whom Duterte warned not to stage a “zarzuela”.

Today one can see that the blood bath has began.

If Round One these days  is any indication, the rest of the 12 rounds would be bloodier and more costly in terms of human lives.

The public is veering towards supporting the Duterte’s anti-drug crusade even though violence has been an instrument.

More credibility will be created, however – and more believers in Duterte’s cause will  multiply if they do two things.

Conduct ballistic tests on weapons found at the scene of the killings (allegedly fired  by the suspects) and a paraffin test on the fingers of the dead suspects to justify their annihilation.

The drug network bosses today  have  shaking legs under their boots.Retaliation is seen as natural consequence.

Then the war of attrition escalates but the president had shown he can  hold his breath longer than them. What’s next, Watson?

For comments: email to dejarescobingo@yahoo.com or bohol-rd@mozcom.com