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MANILA, Philippines – Is President Rodrigo Duterte losing interest in the war on drugs?
Senator Panfilo Lacson posed this question Tuesday while noting the “ridiculously insignificant” P2 billion allocated in the proposed 2021 budget for the Philippine Illegal Drug Strategy (PADS), which involves various government agencies.
Lacson said the president had always emphasized the need to fight the drug threat, yet the budget for PADS was less than 1 percent of the P4.5 billion budget for next year.
Lead agency excluded
“The proposed P2.053 trillion budget under the NEP (national spending program) labeled for the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drug Strategy is a ridiculously insignificant amount considering it involves a multi-agency approach. [to] fighting the threat of drugs, which the president has always emphasized as an ongoing program of the highest priority of his administration, ”Lacson said in a text message to the Inquirer.
“Is this a case of not putting money where your mouth is?” added.
To add insult to injury, he said, the Philippine Drug Control Agency (PDEA) was not included in PADS ‘budget when it is the lead agency in the war on drugs.
Not funding agencies doesn’t make the administration so receptive to the war on drugs, which has seen thousands of deaths, he said.
At the Senate budget hearing, Lacson wondered why a supposedly top-priority program was getting a small chunk of the 2021 budget. “Has the president lost interest in fighting illegal drugs?” I ask.
Undersecretary Benjamin Reyes of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said he did not think so. “In every one of his pronouncements, he still mentions drugs,” he said.
Drug board gets only P2B
But Lacson said making a statement was different than practical support.
“It’s easy to say ‘I hate drugs’, but if you don’t provide a budget, how would you beat the drug problem?” said the senator.
Reyes said that the DDB had requested P9 billion for PADS, but that the program received only P2 billion.
The amounts requested for the PDEA were not awarded, he said, and the reason given for this was that the mandate was from the Philippine National Police, which is the front line in the war on drugs.
But Lacson said the PDEA was the lead agency in the campaign. “If you give the budget to the PNP and not to the PDEA, what is your financial bearing on the leaders? Who will coordinate when the funds will be released to the police? ” he said.
PDEA chief Wilkins Villanueva said he planned to meet with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to discuss funding for the drug campaign.
Efforts to meet with DBM were hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, Villanueva said.
Lacson also noted that of the P2 billion for PADS, P1.28 billion went to the Department of Health, P664.91 million to the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the remainder to the Department of Justice and other executive offices. .
He asked if this meant that the war on drugs was seen more as a health problem than a law enforcement issue.
Reyes said that there must be a balanced approach and that the budget must be divided equally between the two.
The president has consistently defended his war on drugs from criticism and expressions of concern stemming from the growing death toll and abuse in the campaign.
Other senators also questioned the 2021 budget cuts from the DDB and PDEA.
More funds requested
The DDB and PDEA asked the Senate for additional funds for several programs not included in the administration’s national spending program, including the analysis of drugs in saliva for drivers, the strengthening of interdiction units for the capture of contraband drugs. in the country’s ports and the purchase of semi-armored vehicles for agents.
Villanueva appealed to the Senate for an additional P1.6 billion in addition to the budget of P2.73 billion proposed by the PDEA for 2021, which is less than its allocation of P2.78 billion for 2020. The P1.6 billion include funds for security. services, construction of additional offices and laboratory equipment.
Senator Imee Marcos voiced her alarm at the reduction and asked which of the additional programs for which Villanueva was seeking funding were considered a priority.
Villanueva said that he would like to pay more attention to building an office in northern Mindanao and purchasing semi-armored vehicles, especially for Mindanao, to protect the lives of PDEA agents.
He said officers had been killed during anti-drug operations in Lanao del Sur. “At least our people would have a chance to stay alive,” he said.
He called for financial support for the seaport, airport and the recently established land interdiction unit, which verifies routes for drug smuggling.
Reyes said he hoped Congress would include P308 million in the 2021 budget for DDB’s saliva drug pilot test with the Office of Ground Transportation and for support for community programs after it slashed from its proposed budget. .
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