Bill seeks more money to fight drug smuggling

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a bill seeking the allocation of P165 million over the next three years to the Department of National Defense, the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Coast Guard to beef up border security operations and prevent the smuggling of illegal drugs into the country.

Senate Bill No. 1700, or what Santiago calls the Drug-Free Philippines Act, seeks to appropriate on top of the national budget allocations P15 million a year for the next three years to the Bureau of Customs, P10 million a year for the next three years to the Philippine Coast Guard, and P30 million a year for the next three years to the Department of National Defense.

“Illegal drug use can kill the individuals involved, or cause the individuals to kill or hurt others, and such use strips the individuals of their moral sense and with it, everything in life that is important and worthwhile,” Santiago said in an explanatory note to the bill.

“The purpose of this bill is to reduce the supply of drugs by stopping illegal drugs from entering the country,” she added.

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, has said that she would ask the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine Nation al Police to brief the Senate on what is needed to be done after they confirmed the operation in the Philippines of the notorious Mexican drug cartel.

“This is a cause for serious concern. As chair of the committee… I deem it necessary that the committee gets a thorough briefing from the PNP and PDEA on this grave national concern as soon as possible,” Poe said in a text message. “This menace needs to be nipped in the bud as it is a real threat to our society.”

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