Solon backs ‘bloodless’ anti-drug war

The administration’s “bloodless” anti-drugs campaign has received an endorsement from a senior lawmaker, who described it as “more effective” and “humane.”

Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers, chairperson of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, lauded the current approach which is in contrast to the anti-drug war conducted under the previous administration where enforcers were given a license to kill.

“[They] acted in the past as the accusers, judges, and executioners of suspected drug traffickers, addicts, and users,” Barbers said.

“The anti-drug campaign in the past was like a ‘pitik bulag’ (blind hit) that left many families orphaned, where the drug suspects were not subjected to the law and justice,” he added.

Barbers was referring to the brutal war on drugs under former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose campaign killed at least 7,000 people, based on government data.

Local and international human rights organizations, however, estimated the death toll at more than 30,000, affecting predominantly low-income families and communities.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered a shift in the anti-drug campaign to community-based treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration — in stark contrast to Duterte’s bloody campaign.

In his State of the Nation Address last Monday, Marcos said the “bloodless” fight against illegal drugs would be maintained under his watch.

Marcos highlighted that his administration netted the biggest drug haul in Philippine history at P44 billion worth of illegal drugs. Over 97,000 drug suspects had been arrested, he said.

“Our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres and will continue to adhere to the established ‘8 Es’ of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy. Extermination was never one of them,” Marcos said.

Barbers said that his committee has initiated amendments to Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, to “refine further and identify its flaws and loopholes, to effectively carry out the government’s anti-drug campaign, particularly against protectors, coddlers, and financiers.”

At the recently concluded Philippine Drug Policy and Law Reform Summit, organized by the United Nations Joint Program on Human Rights earlier this month, the Department of Justice, Dangerous Drugs Board, and National Police Commission expressed their support for the overhaul of RA 9165.

Key officials of those agencies are keen on pushing for drug policy reforms that are human rights and public health-centered.

They said that addressing drug dependency does not necessitate a brutal response but “empathy.”