Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Background of the study

In United States (US), President Richard Nixxon reaffirmed his commitment

in Americas War on Drugs, ushering in a new era in an old and arguaby

ill-conceived and inefective quest to rid America of the scourges of drug abuse. He

addressed the nation on June 17th, saying: Americas public enemy number one in

the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is

necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive. By doing so, he was setting the stage

for what continues to this day: a crusade spanning over four decades, costing more

than 1$ trillion and having been responsible for over 45 million arrests. In a nation

that holds within its borders only 5% of the worlds population, over 25% of the

worlds prison population is in carceration in the United States. This increase in

incarceration has caused a nation thats billed itself as the land of the free since its

inception to now lock up more of its people than any other country in the world

(https://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca).

In the Philippines, presents a chart which claims to be of a drug trade network

of high level drug syndicates in the Philippines. An unprecedented rise in the

number of deaths President Rodrigo Duterte has carried out a war on drugs that

has led to the deaths of over 7,000 Filipinos to date, mostly urban poor. At least

2,555 of the killings have been attributed to the Philippine National Police. Duterte
and other senior officials have instigated and incited the killings in a campaign that

could amount to crime against humanity (https://www.hrw.org).

In Bansalan, Davao del Sur, the war on drugs has maintained an

accumulation of prohibitions on illegal drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing

strategies for drug offenders. This aims to end the production, distribution and

consumption of illegal drugs. Therefore, this study is made to know the level of war

on drugs in the Philippines and the perception of criminology students in University

of Mindanao Bansalan College of the said war on drugs.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to assess and measure the level of the war on drugs in the

Philippines and the perception of criminology students in Univeristy of Mindanao

Bansalan College. Specifically, it attempts to address the following questions:

1. What is the level of war on drugs in the Philippines in terms of:

1.1 Oplan Tokhang;

1.2 Rehabilitation for drug users;

1.3 Workplace drug testing?

2. What is the level of perception of criminology students on war on drugs in

terms of:

2.1 Oplan Tokhang;

2.2 Rehabilitation for drug users

2.3 Workplace drug testing?

 3. Is there a significant relationship between the level of war on drugs in

the Philippines and the perception of criminology students on war on drugs?

Hypothesis

The null hypothesis in this study was tested at 0.05 level of significance.

There is no significant relationship between levels of war on drugs in

Philippines and the perception of students in the University of Mindanao Bansalan

College.

Review of Related Literature

This section presents different readings that will support the present study

conducted.

War on Drugs

As pointed out in the study of Ghamdi (2014), the War on Drugs is a

general term used to refer to the federal governments attempts to end the import,

manufacture, sale and use of illegal drugs. The first anti-opium laws in the 1870s

were directed at Chinese immigrants. The first anti-cocaine laws, in the South in the

early 1900s, were directed at black men. The first anti-marijuana laws, in the

Midwest and the Southwest in the 1910s and 20s, were directed at Mexican

immigrants and Mexican Americans. Why do people see racism in the war on

drugs? People of color are far more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested,

prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for drug law violations than are whites. This

is not because colored people use drugs, but rather because of a law enforcement
focus on urban areas, on lower-income communities and on communities of color

(https://prezi.com).

War on Drugs is a series of actions tending toward a prohibition of illegal

drug trade. It is a campaign adopted by the U.S. government along with the foreign

military aid with the assistance of participating countries, to both define and to end

the import, manufacture, sale and use of illegal drugs. This iniative includes a set of

United States drug policies that are proposed to discourage the production,

distribution and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs (https://

definitions.uslegal.com/w/war-on-drugs/) .

Amos (2017), The War on Drugs is an american term usually applied to

the United Sates governments campaign of prohibition of drugs, military aid and

military intervention with the stated aim being to reduce the illegal drug trade. This

iniative includes a set of United States drug policies that are proposed to discourage

the production, distribution and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs that the

participating governments and the United Nations have made made illegal

(https://en.m. wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs).

The term was popularized by the media shortly after a press conference that is

given on June 18, 1971, by United States President Richard Nixonthe day after

publication of a special message from President Nixon to the Congress on Drug

Abuse Prevention and Controlduring which he declared drug abuse "public

enemy number one". That message to the Congress included text about devoting

more federal resources to the "prevention of new addicts, and the rehabilitation of
those who are addicted", but that part did not receive the same public attention as

the term "war on drugs". However, two years prior to this, Nixon had formally

declared a "war on drugs" that would be directed toward eradication, interdiction,

and incarceration. Today, the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for an end to

the War on Drugs, estimates that the United States spends $51 billion annually on

these initiatives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War _on_Drugs.

Public support for the war on drugs has waned in recent decades. Some

Americans and policymakers feel the campaign has been ineffective or has led to

racial divide. However, others still passionately support the effort. In 2010,

Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA), which reduced the discrepancy

between crack and powder cocaine offenses from 100:1 to 18:1. The recent

legalization of marijuana in several states and the District of Columbia has also led

to a more tolerant political view on recreational drug use. Technically, the War on

Drugs is still being fought, but with less intensity and publicity than in its early

years (http://www.history.com/topics/the-war-on-drugs).

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

This study is anchored on the Philippine Information Agency where war on

drugs is stipulated. War on drugs in terms of police operation conducted, people

arrested, value of seized drugs and non-drug evidence, killed in legitimate

 Variable 1 Variable 2

Perception of Criminology
War on Drugs in the
Students in University of
Philippines
Mindanao Bansalan College

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram Showing the Variables of the Study

police operations, drug pushers voluntary surrendered, drug users voluntary

surrendered and reduction in drug market (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Philippine_Drug_War).
. According to Amos (2017), The War on Drugs is an american term usually

applied to the United Sates governments campaign of prohibition of drugs,

military aid and military intervention with the stated aim being to reduce the illegal

drug trade. This iniative includes a set of United States drug policies that are

proposed to discourage the production, distribution and consumption of illegal

psychoactive drugs that the participating governments and the United Nations have

made made illegal (https://en.m. wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_ Drugs).

War on Drugs is a series of actions tending toward a prohibition of illegal

drug trade. It is a campaign adopted by the U.S. government along with the foreign

military aid with the assistance of participating countries, to both define and to end

the import, manufacture, sale and use of illegal drugs. This iniative includes a set of

United States drug policies that are proposed to discourage the production,

distribution and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs (https://

definitions.uslegal.com/w/war-on-drugs/) .

Gleaned from the diagram above, the study employed two types of variable.

Variable 1 is the war on drugs in the Philippines in terms of police operation

conducted, people arrested, value of seized drugs and non-drug evidence, killed in

legitimate police operations, drug pushers voluntary surrendered, drug users

voluntary surrendered and reduction in drug market. Variable 2 is the perception of

criminology students on war on drugs. The arrow implies that there is a significant

relationship between the two variables.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would be beneficial to the following:

Students. The findings of this study would provide them baseline

information, so that students will be aware of the governments advocacy towards

war on drugs.

Community. The result of this study could be used by the public in general

to help disseminating the implementation and operation of the government to

induce the public to strengthen the advocacy against war on drugs as a top

proglematic in our country.

Future Researcher. The conduct of the study will definitely develop the

social aspect of the researcher. Aside from gaining additional knowledge, this study

will help to strengthen their patience, creativity and initiative to finish their

study from data gathering presentation of analysis down to interpretation of result.

Definition of Terms

For more convenience to the readers, some of the most important terms used in

this study are defined as follows:

War on Drugs. The term is defined as a series of actions tending toward a

prohibition of illegal drug trade (https://definitions.uslegal.com/w/war-on-drugs/) .

As used in the study, the term refers to the different acts to end drugs in terms of

oplhan tokhang, rehabilitaion for drug users and workplace drug testing.
 Perception. The term is defined as the way you think about or understand

something (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). As used in the study, the term refers to

the students outlook about the war on drugs in Philippines in terms of oplan

tokhang, rehabilitaion for drug users and workplace drug testing.