(Eagle News)–The Palace on Thursday, May 2, thumbed down the suggestion of former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark that narcotics use be decriminalized.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Clark’s suggestion, which was “similar” to the proposal made by the European Union two years ago, had already been thumbed down by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“The other countries’ experiences in addressing illegal substance while educational relative to their method of solving their own drug menace, decriminalizing the use of drugs in the Philippines will not only aggravate but multiply the problem,” Panelo said.
According to Panelo, if the criminal liability of those involved was taken out, “you induce and encourage others to be a part of the dreaded evil.”
He said the Philippines in particular already has a billion-peso illegal drug industry, with 97 percent of its barangays having been “infiltrated” by the illegal substances.
According to Panelo, the Philippines’ drug campaign was “anchored on national security and on public health.”
He said in fact, “drug treatment and rehabilitation form part of the second phase of our campaign.”
“We suggest observers, especially those in foreign countries, to understand fully the Philippine government’s strategy in dealing with illegal drugs before being persuaded by one-sided information and crafting unwise if not cerebrally challenged commentaries based thereon,” Panelo said.
In an interview over ANC, Clark criticized the government’s war on drugs, noting what she said were the “human rights concerns” and the “serious increase in the number of extrajudicial killings.”
Clark, a former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, proposed to regulate some narcotics instead.