The Philippines is committed to cracking down on organized and big drug syndicates through “effective, focused and dedicated law enforcement,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told an international audience on Friday.
Speaking at a side event of the 32nd Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, Remulla said the Department of Justice supports a review of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, as recommended by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
“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 Marcos Jr. also instructed the Philippines’ law enforcement agencies to go after drug syndicates instead of street-level players, Remulla said.
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 said they also promote non-custodial measures, mental health services, and harm reduction for women in need of these services.