Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. has expressed his support to the anti-narcotics campaign of local chief executives, and promised to strengthen the war on drugs during his term.
“The local government units should dictate what their needs are and that will be the basis of their budget,” Abalos said during the 88th League of Vice Governors of the Philippines (LVGP) National Assembly in Pasay City.
Abalos also highlighted the significance of fourth, fifth, and sixth-class municipalities in local governance, adding that managing LGUs is all about balance.
The DILG chief emphasized the effective mechanisms in addressing issues of illegal drugs, saying the rule of witnesses in assisting cases should be given more importance.
Abalos said that for most cases, investigations were deterred as there were no witnesses to assist in the cases. He said that in every illegal drugs confiscated, there should be at least three witnesses: a representative from the media, the Department of Justice, and a barangay official.
Abalos commits to sustain the gains attained in the anti-illegal drug campaign; fill up gaps to improve policies in other major programs of his agency; and “bring people power against social ills.”
Facing the DILG workforce, Abalos commended the “fantastic job” former DILG Secretary Eduardo Año has accomplished for the past years while citing best practices in Mandaluyong City that can be “injected and emulated to improve the department’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.”
“The former DILG Secretary did well in the anti-illegal drugs campaign. We will continue but we will put greater focus in building up strong cases against illegal drug suspects to ensure that no cases will be dismissed and they will be spending the rest of their lives behind bars,” he said.
“We will involve other concerned government agencies, and most importantly, the communities, to make sure that we have a comprehensive campaign against illegal drugs,” he added.
Abalos likewise commended Philippine National Police acting chief Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao, Jr. for the effective mechanisms against illegal drugs, but established that in all of society’s problems, “one must go to the roots and target the main source.”
“Aside from the law enforcement aspect, we should get to the root causes of the illegal drugs problem and address all of these things in collaboration with other agencies of the government and stakeholders—unemployment, education, family, and a host of other issues,” Abalos said.