President Rodrigo Duterte has institutionalized the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy or PADS to boost the government’s crackdown against illegal drugs.
He made the decision after realizing that the proliferation of prohibited drugs is a serious national concern.
In other developments:
• The government is still chasing the mastermind in the smuggling of P11 billion worth of shabu into the country, Senator Richard Gordon said Wednesday.
Gordon, whose Blue Ribbon committee is probing the incident, said the “big fish” was yet to be determined pending the testimony of ex-Police Senior Supt. Eduardo Acierto whom former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban identified as the one who tipped the entry of the smuggled shabu.
• The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission has endorsed the inclusion of Customs Deputy Collector Lourdes Mangaoang”•the whistle-blower in the P11-billion shabu smuggling case”•to the Witness Protection Program.
“We confirm that Atty. Maria Lourdes Mangaoang has sought PACC’s assistance in securing legal protection under the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program,” PACC spokesman Manuelito Luna said in a statement Wednesday.
Under the Executive Order 66, which was signed on Monday, Duterte ordered all government agencies, offices, departments and bureaus”•including government-owned or -controlled corporations and state universities and colleges”•to implement the PADS in accordance with their respective mandates.
Non-government organizations, civil society organizations and private institutions have also been urged to support the projects under PADS.
Formulated by the Dangerous Drugs Board, the PADS “outlines the balanced efforts of the government to strengthen its campaign against prohibited drugs and their precursors and contribute to the international efforts to counter the worldwide illegal drug problem.”
The EO says such proliferation of prohibited drugs and their precursors is a “serious national concern encompassing social, economic, psychological and economic interests, which necessitates the active and unified involvement of various government and non-government agencies.
“To ensure the successful implementation of the PADS and to demonstrate our country’s resolve in confronting the issue on illegal drugs, it is necessary to ensure that government and non-government entities carry out their respective functions and tasks under the PADS.”
Under the EO, government agencies are tasked to formulate and to submit to the DDB, the lead agency, their respective implementing and operational plans relative to the PADS.
All government agencies and local government units are also expected to formulate and adopt drug-free workplace programs and conduct authorized drug testing among their officials and personnel.
