PDEA chief to Shanti Dope: Write songs that will help youth avoid drugs

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino on Friday challenged rapper Shanti Dope to write songs that could help the youth avoid drugs.

Aquino said this after he asked the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to stop airing Shanti Dope’s song “Amatz” for lyrics allegedly promoting the recreational use of marijuana.

READ: PDEA asks MTRCB to ban ‘Amatz’ song for ‘promoting use of marijuana’

“I’m challenging Shanti Dope, why not make a song that will help the youth avoid drugs?” Aquino told reporters in Filipino in an interview in Quezon City.

“I know it’s just a song but if it promotes something bad, hindi pwede (we can’t allow it). Babatikusin at babatikusin ng PDEA yan (PDEA will always criticize it),” he added.

The camp of Shanti Dope retorted that the song never encouraged the use of marijuana.

READ: Shanti Dope’s camp slams PDEA’s bid to ban rap song ‘Amatz’

Aquino snapped back and told the artist’s manages to know the definition of “amats,” the word from which the title of the song was derived.

“Why not try to check the definition of ‘amats’? ‘Amats’ pertains to two things, that is high on drugs and liquor,” Aquino said.

“The word ‘amats,’ you are saying that 32 times in one song and everybody knows what ‘amats’ means so somehow may epekto yun sa mga kabataan (that will affect the youth),” he added.

The PDEA chief said he is willing to attend any conference that the MTRCB will hold to settle the issue.

“I’m open to it,” he said. (Editor: Eden Estopace)