ICAD should link arms with China, other Asian nations, not US, UN

Senate President Vicente Sotto III. (PRIB Photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) should coordinate with international countries such as China and other Asian countries regarding the country’s crackdown against illegal drugs but not with United States and United Nations, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Saturday.

“Kaya nga isa sa trabaho ng ICAD is yung international linkages, hindi sa US, sa UN. Ang dapat na international linkages na inaasikaso natin sa China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, iyan ang Taiwan,” Sotto said in an interview with DWIZ when asked if the ICAD should work with other countries for the anti-drug campaign.

(One of the job of ICAD is international linkages, not in US, UN. We should work on the international linkages with China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan.)

“‘Yan ang dapat inaasikaso na international linkage natin para mag-coordinate mabuti, [These are the international linkage that we need to pursue so we can have a better coordination,” Sotto added.

The ICAD is both headed by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino and newly-designated anti-drug czar Vice President Leni Robredo.

Sotto also criticized the UN for believing in mere hearsays on statistics on drug dependents in the country.

“Alam mo yung United Nations lalo na yung United Nations Office of Crime and Drugs sa mga records sakin niyan, nung DDB chair ako, dineklara noon sa Pilipinas ang drug dependent ay sampung milyon,” the senator said.

(You know what the United Nations, especially the United Nations Office of Crime and Drugs, back when I was the Dangerous Drugs Board chair, their records showed that there are 10 million drug dependents in the Philippines)

“[Sabi ko] San niyo nakuha ang drug figures? Sabi sa ‘dyaryo daw’ [Where did you get the figures I asked, the UN said, ‘at the newspapers’],” he added.

Sotto also advised Robredo to fully research the ICAD’s policies and strategies that would help in addressing the country’s drug problem.

Edited by JPV