MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday met with the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) to discuss “best practices” in addressing the issue of illegal drugs.
Undersecretary Philip Dy, Robredo’s chief of staff, said that aside from programs that can be implemented to fight illegal drugs, the meeting also delved into the experiences of the Philippines’ neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region in dealing with the problem.
Dy said that the meeting sought to discuss what the country “can learn from those experiences and how we can build on those experiences.”
“Iyong naging special na focus doon sa usapan ay iyong karanasan ng ating mga karatig na bansa dito sa Southeast Asia—ano iyong kanilang mga natutunan mula sa mga ganitong programa, ano iyong mga best practices, at ano iyong mga gaps na puwedeng tugunan at puwedeng i-improve para mas mapabuti pa iyong mga programang ginagawa,” Dy said.
(The special focus of the meeting was on the experiences of our neighboring countries here in Southeast Asia—what are their learnings from implementing these programs, what are their best practices, and what are the gaps that need to be addressed to improve the program being implemented.)
Dy said approaching the problem as an issue of public health was among the main things that were emphasized during Robredo’s meeting with UNODC.
“Naging malinaw naman sa naging paunang pahayag ng ating mahal na Bise Pangulo noong kaniyang sinimulan iyong ICAD (Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs) Conference noong Biyernes na isa ito talaga sa mga gusto niyang itulak: na dapat integrated iyong ating approach,” Dy said.
( Vice President Robredo was clear with her pronouncements when she started the ICAD Conference last Friday that this is one of the approaches she wants to push—the approach should be integrated.)
“Dapat as much investment in terms of time, in terms of resources, in terms of focus ang ibinibigay sa public health approach together with the law enforcement approach,” he added.
(We should invest as much time, resources, and focus on public health approach together with the law enforcement approach.)
Robredo accepted the post as co-chairperson of ICAD last November 6, saying that the most important consideration in her decision is the opportunity to stop the killings of innocent individuals.
Robredo earlier said that the implementation of the campaign against drugs must be reassessed.
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