DDB claims Leni was ‘misled’ about war on drugs

The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) on Saturday expressed "sadness" over Vice President Leni Robredo's remark that the administration's war on drugs was a failure, claiming that she was "misled" about the controversial and deadly campaign.

"It seems that up until now, the Vice President is misled in understanding the anti-drug campaign. Authorities continue to address the domestic drug issues using a holistic, balanced and comprehensive approach," the agency said in a statement.

"Though much of the agencies of the government have been diligent in performing their roles and responsibilities under the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS) which is institutionalized by virtue of Executive Order No. 66, series of 2018, there are still institutions in the government and sectors in the society that need to be informed on PADS," it added.

The agency stated that the anti-drugs campaign is guided by the PADS framework which gives importance to both the drug supply and the drug demand reduction initiatives.

It added that 997 local government units already have an existing community-based rehabilitation program out of the 1,634 cities and municipalities in the country for Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUD), and that a total of 179,152 PWUDs have benefited from these facilities.

The DDB also cited the Philippines' successes in the global community, after it was selected as chair of the Treatment and Rehabilitation Cluster of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters; and that the DDB Executive Director also got elected as Chair of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies in Asia and the Pacific Region.

"It appears that VP Robredo is only looking at the one side of the campaign. While enforcement issues are more evident, we cannot discount the successes we have gained in the demand reduction part of the campaign," the DDB said.

Robredo has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to allow the United Nations to investigate his war on drugs and abandon a "deadly" campaign that has been "failure" and a dent on the country's international image.

Robredo claimed that the crackdown overwhelmingly targeted the poor rather than big drugs networks, adding that Duterte's violent rhetoric was aiding a culture of police impunity.

"We ask ourselves, 'Why is this still happening?' The president has already made very serious threats to drug syndicates, to drug lords ... and yet it's still very prevalent, so obviously, it's not working," Robredo said. — Jamil Santos/MDM, GMA News