Interior and Local
Government Secretary Ismael Sueno clarified that not everyone who wants to join
the Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga (MASA
MASID) can participate in the program.
Secretary Sueno said
while MASA MASID promotes shared responsibility between the government and its
citizenry through their participation in ensuring public peace and order,
participants will be subjected to rigorous background checking.
“We have to make sure
they are not in any way connected to illegal drugs activity before we allow
them to take part in the community-based campaign against illegal drugs trade,”
Sueno said.
He added: “We don’t want
to put our men in bad light or be accused of falsifying information. We want to
give the highest credibility possible in every anti-illegal drugs operation
that we will be conducting in the future with the help of MASA MASID.”
One of the
responsibilities of MASA MASID volunteers is to report to authorities
incidences of criminality, corruption, and illegal drug trade in their
communities.
However, he said those
who will be volunteering information to barangays will have to do it discreetly
in order not to endanger their lives.
Sueno said the more
700,000 drug surrenderers who voluntarily submitted themselves to the police
authorities speak well of the national government’s intensified campaign
against illegal drugs.
“If it were not for the
initiatives of President Duterte, the surrender of the more than 700,000 drug
dependents who have submitted themselves for rehabilitation will not be
possible. It might take 10 to 15 years or even longer to gather such a big
number,” Sueno said.
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