Survey needed to find out if drugs worsened — Lacson

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday said that a P70-million budget proposal for a survey, which will determine if drug problems worsened in the country, currently awaits President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval.

Lacson said that the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), which requested for the budget, must immediately carry out the survey for the government to have accurate data on the country’s state against drugs.

“Lumala ba o gumaan ang problema natin sa illegal drugs? Walang makasabi kung ano ang accurate number ng drug users (Did our problem with drugs worsen? Only accurate numbers can answer that),” Lacson said during the Kapihan sa Senado.

“So once and for all nakiusap ang DDB na kung pwedeng humingi sila ng pondo para magsagawa ng methodical, analytical survey para malaman ang bilang (So once and for all, DDB asked for the budget to conduct a methodical and analytical survey regarding the issue),” the senator added.

Duterte on Monday said that the drug problem in the country “worsened,” citing recent news on billions-worth of drugs entering the country.

Lacson, however, argued that the “bigger picture” must also be looked at, particularly the efficiency and improvement of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in seizing drugs in the country.

“Ako gusto kong tingnan ang kabuuan, baka naman effective at efficient ang law enforcement natin kaya nagkakaroon ng perception na bakit bilyong pisong shabu na-seize, may nahuling mga Chinese drug lords (I want to see the bigger picture. There may be a perception that the drug problem is worsening because our law enforcement is efficient in seizing billions-worth of drugs and arrests of Chinese drug lords are being made),” Lacson said.

“Sa pag-iisip ng kababayan natin lumalala ang drugs kasi bilyon-bilyon worth of drugs dumarating pero di rin natin nakikita na baka noong araw, di nasasabat, nariyan ang drugs ‘di natin nakikita, (Our countrymen may see that the drug problem is worsening because of the drugs entering the country, but they fail to see that before we are not even able to bust these operations),” he added.

The senator also noted that Duterte’s previous statement on the worsening state of drugs in the country could be “out of frustration” and was merely the president’s perception.

“We all know the President, kung anong perception or mood niya at the time di talaga siya nagtatago. Each time meron siyang naiisip nilalabas niya ito pero hindi nga backed by solid proof na ang kanyang sinabi ay yan na nga talaga yan, (We all know the President, he says what is his perception or mood. He says whatever enters his mind even without the backing of solid proof),” Lacson said.