The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chaired by Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers approved a draft substitute bill seeking to strengthen Republic Act 9165, as amended, more popularly known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Barbers welcomed the Committee’s approval of the substitute bill, which consolidates 12 bills on the subject, noting the need to strengthen the prosecution aspect of enforcing laws against illegal drugs.
“Nakita natin dun 80% or even more of cases filed before our courts are dismissed.”
“Nakita natin dun 80% or even more of cases filed before our courts are dismissed. May huhulihin ang pulis, ang pulis magpa-file ng kaso sa fiscal, ang fiscal magpa-file ng kaso sa korte, pagdating sa korte nadi-dismiss,” the veteran legislator lamented.
“Why add another bureaucracy when we have field operators trying to contain dangerous drugs in our localities?”
While noting the importance of evidence in prosecution, Lanao del Norte 2nd District Representative Khalid Dimaporo questioned the need for another agency in the fight against drugs, “why add another bureaucracy when we have field operators trying to contain dangerous drugs in our localities?”
Dimaporo suggested that if the Department of Health cannot establish crime laboratories in every province, private laboratories can serve as partner-facilities, similar to what was done in his province. The lawmaker nonetheless pushed for DOH to put up a forensics laboratory in every province.
APEC Party-list Representative Sergio Dagooc said if the bill is passed into law, Congress will definitely allocate funds for whatever facilities are needed to implement the law.
House Committee on Dangerous Drugs vice chairperson and Leyte 2nd District Representative Richard Gomez inquired about the existing system for rewarding informants.
The draft substitute bill is a collation of amendments done by the panel on the following House Bills (HBs) — HBs 90, 1278 and 5333 authored by Barbers, Representatives LRay Villafuerte Jr., Miguel Luis Villafuerte, Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and Nicholas Enciso VIII and Representative Rufus Rodriguez, respectively, which seek to strengthen drug prevention and control.
The other bills HB 572 and 2462, which seeks to exempt journalists from acting as anti-drug operations witnesses filed by Representatives France Castro, Arlene Brosas and Raoul Danniel Manuel; HBs 908 and 7094, the last authored by Representative Ronald Singson, which provide for the immediate destruction of the confiscated, seized and or surrendered dangerous drugs, plant sources of dangerous drugs, and controlled precursors; HB 2459 prescribing a higher penalty, including death, of an alien found guilty of guilty trafficking dangerous drugs and other similar substances; HB 2464 providing guidelines on drug testing; HB 2882, mandating Local Government Units to allocate 1 percent of their annual budgets to fund the city/municipality anti-illegal drug fund, authored by Gomez; and HB 4181 strengthening the drug abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation filed by Representative Harris Christopher Ongchuan.
