2 years of Duterte's drug war, no holistic national action yet, NGO says
President Rodrigo Duterte's intensified campaign against illegal drugs has been on its second year and yet the government has no holistic national action plan, particularly to those who became orphans of the slain drug suspects, a non-government organization said on Wednesday.
In a forum in Quezon City, Teresita Ang-See, founding chairman of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, wondered what happened to the orphans of those killed in the administration's war on drugs.
"The anti-drugs campaign is already on its second year...it's very, very obvious, it's such a huge problem that needs national solution...There's a lot of good plans, but there's no action that will be holistic from the lowest barangay, the community, the family, the schools, the jail system, the criminal justice system above all that badly needs an overhaul because of jail congestions," she said.
Ang-See said there was no "intervention also for the orphans for the victims of the drugs campaign."
"So, I still have to see a national action plan against drugs that will coordinate everything, from the legislation up to the judiciary, the executive, the legislative, the judiciary acting together to implement the national anti-drug action plan. Let's focus on the action rather than on the plan," she stressed.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Director Derrick Arnold Carreon said from July 1, 2016 to May 15 this year, there were 4,279 drug-related deaths.
He said PDEA, with the private sector, will launch "Sagip Batang Solvent," a program for the street children who are taking solvents.
He said this will be pilot-tested first in one of the cities in Metro Manila.
Duterte's war on drugs has been criticized due to the huge number of people being killed.
Duterte has said his administration would continue with the campaign until the last day of his term. Celerina Monte/DMS