The Philippines remained committed to going after organized and big drug groups through “effective, focused, and dedicated law enforcement,” according to Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
“[T]he government remains committed to [going] after organized and big drug groups through effective, focused, and dedicated law enforcement,” he said at the side event of the 32nd Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, Austria, on Friday.
Remulla said the DOJ supported the conduct of an executive review of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 after it received a suggestion from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for the convening of an inter-agency group to study and recommend amendments to the law.
“The DOJ supports the conduct of an executive review in light of the Philippine administration’s new direction to approach the drug problem through the prism of public health for persons who use drugs and small-time peddlers who got involved in low-level drug transactions due to health, social, and economic factors,” he said.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. also instructed the Philippines’ law enforcement agencies to go after drug syndicates instead of street-level players, Remulla earlier said.
Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier cited the recent number of illegal drugs confiscated by the Philippine National Police in its efforts to go after syndicates and not just small suspects.
PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon said their agency was focusing on “top-tier” suspects.
Carreon said 15,271 high-value targets, which represent local and foreign syndicates, were arrested from July 2016 to May 2022.
Remulla also said the DOJ, together with the Department of Health, is committed to implementing comprehensive health measures to address health concerns in jails and prisons such as HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and other diseases by revisiting jail and prison policies.
He said the DOJ, together with other government agencies, also adopted the joint memorandum circular to provide comprehensive guidelines for the Bureau of Corrections and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to provide custody care for women and children in conflict with the law.
Remulla added that they also promote non-custodial measures, mental health services, and harm reduction for women in need of these services. — VBL, GMA Integrated News
