For Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, when Filipino familial ties are strengthened, the country's drug problem will be eradicated. (Photo: Luke Godoy)
MEYCAUAYAN City, Bulacan, Sept. 5, 2016 – As the country’s war on drugs rages on, a bishop points out strengthening family relationships will end the narco problem, which has worsened because of a lack of strong personal connections.
“What is the cause of addiction? Is it the exposure to drugs? No. It is caused by [a person’s] loneliness and [his] imprisonment [from the community]… Therefore, a person truly needs a family, friends, and acceptance from his own community… In order to solve our problem regarding drugs, we must strengthen the ties of all Filipino families,” explained Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David during his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of formation month in the Diocese of Malolos, Sept. 3.
To achieve a more secure attachment among family members, David called on everyone to “stop playing deaf and blind, acting like there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Is it possible that you call yourself a family, but you fail to see that there’s something wrong with you children?” said the bishop. “It will start as a simple drug addiction. Then they will try to rob you. Soon, they will rob other people too. Later on, they will peddle drugs themselves just to satisfy his or her addiction. As a mother, father, or sibling, you should notice this, and you must do something about it.”
David insisted that drug addicts must all be punished because of all the evil acts they have done, but they must not be treated like “junkies.”
“I believe that the campaign against drugs must be implemented well,” stressed the prelate. “It destroys our families and our nation as a whole. We must have a government and police force with a firm political will. Do you think, however, that drug addicts must be treated like junkies that are good for dead?”
“In the eyes of God, none of us are junkies, drug addicts or not,” he added.
Furthermore, David encouraged the faithful to visit those in city jails, where the population of detainees quadrupled in the past three weeks because of the increasing number of drug-involved suspects caught by the authorities. (Luke Godoy / CBCPNews)
