By Omar Fernando

DAVAO CITY – Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said the Filipino people are the fitting judges for former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s (FPRRD) anti-illegal drugs campaign.

The statement came in response to the ongoing investigations at the Lower House, which he observed to demonize FPRRD’s anti-drug campaign seemingly.

“‘Wag nating sayangin ang laban kontra droga (Let us not put to waste the campaign against drugs),” Bong Go said as he depicted the significant gains of FPRRD’s anti-drug campaign that saved the lives of the Filipino people and secured the future of the young generation.

"Ang ayaw ko pong mangyari ay matatakot ang taumbayan na maglakad sa gabi. Dapat po ang kriminal, dapat po ang drug addict ang takot maglakad sa gabi, hindi ang ordinaryong mamamayang Pilipino na gusto lang tahimik ang buhay at makakauwi ng ligtas ang kanilang mga anak. Huwag nating sayangin ang magandang nasimulan ni dating Pangulong Duterte (What I don't want to happen is that the people will be afraid to walk at night. It should be the criminal, it should be the drug addict who should be afraid to walk at night, not the ordinary Filipino people who just want a quiet life and their children can go home safely. Let's not waste the good things that the former president started,” Go said in an interview with reporters on Monday, Oct. 14.

He also raised concerns over the ongoing probe of becoming a venue where drug lords and criminals would twist facts to further discredit FPPRD’s war on drugs.

"Lumalakas ang loob ng mga drug lord. Kung bumalik ang iligal na droga, babalik po ang korapsyon sa gobyerno, babalik po ang kriminalidad (Drug lords are getting emboldened. If illegal drugs return, so will government corruption and criminality),” Go said.

He reiterated his call to the Filipinos to judge FPRRD’s drug war based on their experiences and the benefits they obtained from the campaign.

"Kayo na po ang humusga, mga kababayan, kung mas nakakalakad ba ang mga anak natin na hindi nasasaktan, hindi nababastos ng mga drug addict (tulad) noongpanahon po ni dating Pangulong Duterte. Alam n’yo, ‘pagbumalik ang iligal na droga, mas nakakatakot (It's up to you, fellow citizens, to judge if our children can walk safer without being hurt, not being abused by drug addicts like during the time of former President Duterte. You know, when illegal drugs are back, it's even scarier)," he said.

During his six years in office and with the strong implementation of the war on drugs, FPRRD and his administration received the full support of the people, as shown in his high trust and approval rating.

"Ginawa n’ya po ito para sa taumbayan. At nagkaroon po siya ng mataas na approval rating nung nagsimula ang kanyang administrasyon hanggang natapos,” Go recalled. “87% ang kanyang approval rating dahil sa kanyangstrong stance o strong position against illegal drugs."

Turncoats

Go also assailed those who once stood for FPRRD but lately made a 180-degree turn, as he urged them to deeply examine how the war on drugs helped secure the people and the nation.

These turncoats, he emphasized, also benefited not only from the war on drugs but also from other programs of the Duterte administration.

“Tapos bakit ngayon sinisisi siya? Bakit ngayon mag-isa na lang siya? Hindi ba kayo nakinabang? Hindi banakinabang ang mga kababayan nating Pilipino? ‘Yung mga anak natin na hindi nasasaktan. ‘Di ba importante saatin ang buhay ng ating mga anak, ng ating mga pamilya? Nakinabang kayo ah. Nakinabang po ang Pilipino. Itinayaniya po ang kanyang buhay dito. Tapos ngayon, mag-isa na lang siya, puro sisi pa ang inabot (Then why blame him now? Why is he alone now? Didn't you benefit? Didn't our fellow Filipinos benefit? Our children who are not hurt. 'Aren't the lives of our children, our families important to us? You benefited ah. The Filipino benefited. He risked his life here. Then now, he's alone, all he's got is blame),” he lamented.

He also refuted the accusations of a “reward system” allegedly employed during the Duterte administration, especially in the fight against illegal drugs.

He instead highlighted FPRRD's strong support for the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, not only in terms of their budget but also in terms of increasing their salaries and wages.

"Wala pong reward system. Full support po si datingPangulong Duterte sa police, sa uniformed personnel. In fact, noong 2018, pinadoble niya po ang sahod ng police, military, at uniformed personnel. Pinaghirapan natin 'yon, pinaglaban natin 'yon para magampanan pa nila ang kanilang trabaho. Na-doble po noong 2018 ang sahod nilasa mga entry position," he said.

No direct role in drug war

He clarified that he had no direct role in the program’s operations.

"Wala po akong role, hindi ko po mandato ang operations ng war on drugs (I don’t have a role. The drug operations is not my mandate)," Go said, adding that he served as Special Assistance to the President during the early part of the Duterte administration, particularly from 2016 to 2018.

He resigned from the office when he filed his candidacy for senator in October 2018.

"Deemed resigned na po ako noong October 2018, nungtumakbo po ako bilang senador. Wala na po akongkinalaman sa day-to-day operations ni dating PangulongDuterte," he said.

He added that he would support moves to reveal the truth behind the war on drugs to clear all the allegations being thrown against the former president.

"Kung kakailanganin (If needed), pwede akong (I can) mag-file ng resolution para magkaroon po ng investigation dito sa Senado para malaman lang natin kung ano 'yungtotoo for a Senate investigation to ferret out the truth)," Go said.