Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said yesterday that efforts must be made to control the demand side of illegal drugs by providing adequate treatment and rehabilitation services to drug dependents, while simultaneously tackling the supply side by ensuring that drug traffickers and pushers are put behind bars.
Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law, a drug-dependent individual, or a parent, spouse, guardian, or relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity, may voluntarily apply for admission to a Department of Health-run Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC).
The law also stipulates that any person arrested and found positive for illegal drug use, following a confirmatory test, faces a minimum penalty of six months’ compulsory rehabilitation at a DATRC.
In a move to further increase funding for drug rehabilitation, the national government is set to increase spending by 35 percent, bringing the total allocation for public residential DATRCs to P2.7 billion in 2025.
The increase was announced by Campos, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, on Thursday.