There is a pressing need to update and modernize the government’s approach to stopping the continued nefarious operations of illegal drug syndicates in our country, Senate President Vicente Sotto III has said.
At this time when the atrocious connection between illegal drugs operators and rogue police officers have been publicly leaked, Sotto believes that government has to level up and take extra steps to better handle the worsening situation.
“Despite the various measures currently in place to curtail this social ill, the war against it has not yet been won. Hence, the government is in a continuous search for an effective and efficient means to somehow get us closer to our victory,” Sotto stressed when he filed Senate Bill No. 3.
SBN 3 proposes the creation of a Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority “to further strengthen our fight against illegal drugs” and to give government sharper teeth in its fight against big-time illegal drugs peddlers and their cohorts in uniform.
The measure will unify the four major programs in the campaign against illegal drugs into a single government agency. It seeks to put in sync the enforcement, prosecution, prevention and rehabilitation fronts of the drive.
“Since these four have to be in sync, a supervisory agency has to step in in order to ensure that the concerned government agencies mandated to perform several duties under Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) are doing the same satisfactorily,” Sotto said.
SBN 3 will amend RA 9165, which Sotto authored during his second term at the Senate. The law created the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The Senate President noted how the current set-up among the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has failed to curb the illegal operations, especially since corrupt agents have been abusing their powers and authorities as they collude with drug syndicates.
He cited recent revelations at the Senate indicating a dreadful connivance between illegal drug traders and ninja cops.
“We need to further dig deeper into our mental arsenal and discover new tactics to put an end to this. We all need to exhaust our ideas and efforts,” Sotto said, adding that “after many years, we need to keep improving and put in a lot of revisions into the old law and upgrade the functions of PDEA.”
He stressed that “the war against drugs needs to continuously adjust to the strategies, tactics and new substances introduced by illegal drug suppliers. Big time drug lords must be countered by big time government interdiction while retail peddlers must be stopped by the barangay and street tanod and policemen.”
Sotto said “the law, as presently formulated, needs retrofitting, so to speak, like any structure or machine in constant use for 14 years now. Supervision of enforcement activities is desirable to map out policies for more effective anti-illegal drugs campaign.”
“We need to work hand in hand so we may achieve a drug-free Philippines for the future generations. There is no best time to cure this social ill than now,” Sotto said. (PR)
