SENATE Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III has proposed revising Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in which a central agency would be created to integrate the efforts of the government in fighting against drugs and substance addiction.

Under Sotto’s proposal is the transformation of Philippine Drug and Enforcement Agency (PDEA) into the Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority to strengthen the major anti-drug programs in the Philippines.

“The law, as presently formulated, needs retrofitting, so to speak, like any structure or machine in constant use for 23 years now,” Sotto stated in a Philstar report.

The new agency would encompass into four aspects — enforcement, prosecution, prevention, and rehabilitation. It aims to ensure improved coordination between agencies and make a discourse of the existing gaps in implementation of the law.

“The law, as presently formulated, needs retrofitting, so to speak, like any structure or machine in constant use for 23 years now,” Sotto said.

“Supervision of enforcement activities is desirable to map out policies for more effective anti-illegal drugs campaigns,” he added.

Peace, security, and economic stability, will depend on the government’s ability to discuss illegal drug use through a more comprehensive and coordinated manner, Sotto said.

The senator noted that the government’s anti-drug efforts are more focused on enforcement which makes the prevention and rehabilitation within the Department of Education and Department of Health remain unsettled.

“There’s no better time to address this societal problem than now,” he stated.(Theressa Faye Lacandazo, USC Comm Intern)

• Tags
• #Senate Minority Leader
• #Vicente Sotto III
• #Republic Act No. 9165
• #Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002
• #Philippine Drug and Enforcement Agency
• #PDEA
• #Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority
• #Anti-drug operations