EDITORIAL - State-funded drug use

In an editorial last year, we mentioned that some beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, more famously or infamously known as 4Ps, might just be squandering the money provided to them by the government through illegal gambling.

However, according to a story that came out in this newspaper recently, Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 Regional Director Rebecca Geamala said her office received reports that some beneficiaries may be using the cash subsidy to buy illegal drugs.

We would like to remind the beneficiaries who do so that because the money they receive from the 4Ps program --which is intended for basic needs and other essentials-- comes from the government, this means it comes from taxes paid by people who have jobs.

If it is indeed true that some beneficiaries are spending money from the government to buy illegal drugs then that would be one of the greatest injustices of all. Not only is the state subsidizing their nefarious vice, but so are the people who are actually contributing to society, and who are most likely keeping themselves clean by staying away from narcotics.

What’s even sadder is that these same hard-working, tax-paying people who stay away from drugs are more likely to become the victims when drug users lose their judgment, wits, and common sense as a result of their vice.

We also know that those who are deeply addicted to drugs, who think of nothing but it, and are willing to do anything to get it, are no longer functioning members of society

If there are people who are indeed buying drugs with state-provided money then they shouldn’t just be delisted from the program, they should be prosecuted and made to return every peso they received from it.

If some of these 4Ps beneficiaries cannot put the money others have worked hard for to good use then it would be better if that money is returned to those who worked hard for it, or is used to fund other causes or programs that would benefit society more.