Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region
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The capacity of the media shall be tapped
and brought to bear in all three prongs
of the strategy . International cooperation
will be enhanced and taken advantage of
to strengthen an anti-drug campaign .
To properly operationalise the preceding
strategic three-pronged concepts, the
Broad Force Implications shall consist of
the following:
• Holistic Leadership: Local Development
Councils and Anti Drug Abuse Councils
shall closely coordinate and integrate
their programs, projects, and activities .
At a national level, the DDB shall closely
coordinate with National Economic
Development Authority (NEDA) and its
foreign counterparts .
• Criminal Justice System: It shall implement
the Drug Supply and Demand
Reduction Campaign with the support
of National Government Agencies
(NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs),
Non Government Organisations (NGOs),
Government–Owned and Controlled
Corporations (GOCCs), and the mobilised
sectors of the society .
• NGAs, LGUs, GOCCs, NGOs and Mobilised
Sectors: Shall undertake the Development/Reform
Package of programs
which shall be closely orchestrated from
national down to local levels .
• Citizenry: They shall be the force/
resource multipliers of the Criminal
Justice System and the Government
Machinery mobilised through People
Empowerment and shall participate in
and support both Supply and Demand
Reduction Campaign, and Development/
Reform Package Programs .
The National Anti Drug Program of Action
(NADPA) (Dangerous Drugs Board) operationalises
the National Anti-Drug Strategy
consistent with:
• Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Drugs
Act 2002
• Anti-Money Laundering Act 2002
• Presidential Decree 1619
• Presidential LOI Nr dated 4 July 2001
• UN Political Declaration, Guiding Principles
of Drug Demand Reduction and
Measures to Enhance International Cooperation
to Counter World Problem of
1998
• ASEAN and China Cooperative Operations
in Response to Dangerous Drugs
(ACCORD) Plan of Action of 2000 .
In order to attain a drug-free Philippines
in 2010, the following objectives have
been set:
• To dismantle all drug syndicates, financiers,
producers, traffickers, pushers and
their protectors/coddlers
• To prevent all non-users from being
initiated to drug use through education
and information
• To intervene and convert all drug experimenters/casual
users to non-users
• To treat, rehabilitate and empower drug
dependents to become drug-resistant
and productive members of society
• To address the risk factors and deficiencies
in the environment that breed/abet
the drug problem in society
• To strengthen legal research and work
for legal reforms, so as to provide more
legal weapons that can be wielded in
the anti-drug campaign
• To empower all drug affected barangays
as anti-drug self-policing communities
• To tap and mobilise all NGAs, LGUs,
GOCCs and NGOs for greater community
participation in the anti-campaign
nationwide
• To motivationally enlighten, organise,
mobilise and bring People Power to
bear against the drug menance nationwide;
and
• To enhance international cooperation
and tap the International Community
in our anti-drug campaign .
The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act
of 2002 (Republic Act 9165) extends to the
barangay (village) level which is mandated
to establish a Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse
Council (BADAC) whose objective is to
gather information and monitor illegal drug
activities . According to NGO key informants,
this is helpful for policy purposes, however
it sometimes breaks down for project implementation
because it drives injecting drug
user partners underground . NGOs approach
this challenge by educating and informing
barangay leaders on the positive effects of
harm reduction programs .
Law enforcement responses
The details below are found in the ‘National
Anti-Drug Program of Action’ .
Legislation/penalties/prison
The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act
of 2002 established the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA), responsible
for implementation and enforcement .
The PDEA is the lead agency in the conduct
of supply and demand reduction campaigns,
except prevention, control and financing .
PDEA conducts anti-drug financing
operations in coordination with the Anti-
Money Laundering Council (AMLAC) .
The PDEA also conducts supply reduction
by implementing prevention and control
measures such as:
• Production control: for example, crop
eradication operations, investigation
and prosecution of owners, planters,
guards
• Processing control: for example, police
search and destroy operations, enforcement
of regulations and monitoring
of the movement, processing and
refining of precursor chemicals and
raw materials, investigation and prosecution
of those involved in clandestine
laboratories
• Trafficking control: for example, customs
operations to intercept shipments,
border and coastal patrol operations,
airport security, investigation and
prosecution of traffickers
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Country profiles: Philippines