DOI: 10.5176/2251-2403_PSSIR17.42
Authors: Assoc. Prof. Phoebe Zoe Maria U. Sanchez, Ph. D., Asst. Prof. Francis Michael C. Abad
Abstract:
The study is a comparative historical analysis on regulations related to the anti-drugs campaign among the Philippines, the United States of America and China, in the context of the regulation school of the international political economy. The study hopes to find whether drugs trade is a mode of capital accumulation necessary for international pharmaceuticals to penetrate markets in the interstate arena and try to find out evidence on drugs trade and the drugs market consumption patterns particularly on records of chemical trade on ephedrine, chlorine and lithium as basic components of methamphetamine hydrochloride (“meth”). Hypothetically speaking, the "Strain Theory" of Robert Merton King may be considered as a means to understand drugs proliferation as form of ritual to push for recognition for poor societies to compete or to earn easy cash to uplift their situation in a fast growing urban economy such as Cebu City. The urban poor community of 30,000 strong urban poor dwellers, known as the Barrio Luz urban poor community located beside the Ayala Business Park, juxtaposed to the Waterfront Hotel and the IT Park of Cebu City, is chosen as the appropriate field site. The case study is specific to the Barrio Luz, Cebu City community which was subject to the study of Lepiten (2002) on “Children’s Involvement in the Production, Sale and Trafficking of Drugs in Cebu City: A Rapid Assessment” funded by the International Labor Organization (ILO). The Barrio Luz community shall serve as a case study to verify the demand side of the trade. Hence, the study shall look into the demand side in terms of the correlation between local crimes committed and the volume of apprehended drugs. It shall look into, what crimes are directly attributed to drugs used particularly in the chosen field site (Barrio Luz)? How effective was the conduct of "operation tokhang" in the apprehension of drugs traders and drug criminals?
Keywords: concepts: mode of regulation; mode of accumulation; drugs war; drugs trade; drug crimes; ‘tukhang’.
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