PASAY CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday urged fellow lawmakers from other Association of Southeast Asian member-states to throw their support behind President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.
“I take this opportunity to urge you to do the same. With political will and cooperation, we will dismantle the massive illegal drug trade apparatus,” he said at the opening of the 13th meeting of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Fact Finding Committee (AIFCOM) at the Conrad Manila in Pasay City.
Alvarez, president of AIPA, cited as an example drug trafficking, which he said was still a concern in the region.
The region, he said, “has become a major transshipment hub for illegal drugs by transnational organized crime groups to meet the demand of an increasingly growing international market for illegal drugs.”
“I also call upon our AIPA member-states to enhance cooperation in the field of law enforcement and the criminal justice system, to raise awareness and educate all sectors of society especially the youth, and engage our local communities, schools and the media to commit their support to the realization of a drug-free ASEAN,” he added.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who was appointed as chair of the 13th AIPA AIFOCOM meeting by Alvarez, was as vocal against illegal drugs as the Speaker.
“I say it is time to take bold, courageous steps, and to bring more of our collective weight into forging a tighter, more decisive collaboration against illegal drugs,” he said in his acceptance speech.