But still frowns on trafficking, sale
SEN. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa yesterday pushed for the decriminalization of the use of illegal drugs in the country, a proposal that he admitted has been strongly opposed by law enforcement agencies as it may further worsen the narcotics trade in the country.
Dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, said the issue of illegal drug use is more of a health concern rather than a law enforcement problem.
But Dela Rosa clarified that his proposal is limited to illegal drug use. He said he is still against the sale, manufacture and trafficking of illegal drugs.
Under proposed Senate Bill No. 202 which the senator filed last July, an arrested drug user, after being subject to screening and drug dependency examination, will be referred to a drug rehabilitation center depending on the assessment and recommendation of a Department of Health- accredited physician.
SBN 202 seeks to amend certain provisions of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2022, specifically on the arrest of drug users.
Dela Rosa said that aside from rehabilitating drug users, his proposal will likewise help decongest the country’s overcrowded prison facilities.
He said that while he was the chief PNP at the height of the illegal drugs war of the administration of former President Duterte, he had seen how drug users were cramped in detention facilities while waiting for their conviction.
Dela Rosa said that if his bill is approved, drug users will be sent to drug rehabilitation centers or clinics instead of being jailed, “thus decongesting jail facilities.”
He said drug rehabilitation centers nationwide have an average of only 50 percent occupancy rate, while the Mega Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Nueva Ecija, the biggest built during the Duterte government, did not even get close to half of its full capacity, the reason why it was converted into a COVID-19 facility at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
“Nakita ko noong kasagsagan ng campaign against illegal drugs, punong puno ang mga kulungan. In order to decongest ang mga kulungan ay i-decriminalize na lang ‘yan at mga drug rehab centers natin ay hindi napupuno. At saka, we consider drug addiction is not a law enforcement problem but more of a health problem (I have seen at the height of the campaign against illegal drugs that jails were overcrowded, while our drug rehab centers have not been fully occupied. In order to decongest them, let us decriminalize illegal drugs use. And one more thing, we consider drug addiction is not a law enforcement problem but more of a health problem),” Dela Rosa told GMA News’ Unang Balita.
He, however, admitted that he has not been actively pushing for the approval of his proposal because law enforcement agencies have opposed his bill and have warned him that this might send the wrong signal to the youth — that using illegal drugs is okay since the user will not be jailed but will just undergo drug rehabilitation.
Dela Rosa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs, said he will schedule a hearing to discuss the merits and disadvantages of his proposed legislation.
“Sabi ko mag-hearing tayo ulit kasi sabi ko mabigat na talakayan ito para magkaroon tayo ng very good piece of legislation, at hindi ‘yung mamadaliin natin. Pag-usapan natin (I will schedule another hearing because this needs a thorough discussion so we can have a very good piece of legislation, and not hurried. We need to talk about this),” he said.
Dela Rosa was the chief architect of the Duterte administration’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs. He introduced “Oplan Tokhang,” which earned notoriety after many drug offenders were killed after police officers claimed they violently resisted arrest.
Tokhang is a combination of two Visayan words “toktok and hangyo,” which means to knock on doors (totok) and appeal (hangyo) to an individual to stop using illegal drugs.
Records from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency show that 14,646 high-value drug targets and 331,694 individuals involved in illegal drugs were arrested from June 2016 up to April 30, 2022 during the Duterte administration.
Aside from SBN 202, Dela Rosa has also authored a bill seeking the reimposition of the death penalty on illegal drug traffickers. It is still pending on the committee level as of August this year.
