Sotto: No place for politics in fight vs illegal drugs

MANILA, Philippines – Former senator Vicente Sotto told his critics yesterday that there would be “no place for politics in the fight against drugs.”

The new chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) clarified that his appointment was not a political favor from President Arroyo for losing in the 2007 senatorial race under her administration’s Team Unity ticket.

“This (appointment) is far from being a political accommodation. There is no place for politics in the war against illegal drugs – no administration, no opposition. I can’t control what they say, but what they think of me is none of my business,” Sotto told reporters in an interview yesterday morning after he formally took his post at DDB headquarters in Quezon City.

He said he was instructed by President Arroyo “to take my gloves off” in politics, especially after he earned the support of some officials of the political opposition in his new position.

“I’ve been offered this post three times before, but I politely declined. Last month, they offered it again to me and I thought it was very timely. I knew the President needs my help on this issue,” he said.

On questions on his competency as DDB chairman, Sotto said he is familiar with the structure and functions of the anti-illegal drugs agency that is directly under the Office of the President and which oversees operations of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Asked about his plans for the agency, Sotto replied: “We will have to make sure that our strategies are strengthened. We also need to fine-tune laws and their implementation.”

Sotto said he would also seek the help of his former colleagues in Congress for additional allocation of necessary funds to the DDB.

“The budget for the DDB is a little over P100 million. And we need research facilities and at least 37 more people. PDEA also needs surveillance equipment. I talked to Sen. (Juan Ponce) Enrile and some congressmen and they assured me of their support,” he said.

Although Sotto said he would not pinpoint specific targets in his programs as all sectors are equally important, he noted there is a need to immediately respond to abuse of illegal drugs among the country’s youth.

As DDB chairman, he is now a Cabinet secretary heading an 11-man panel composed of other secretaries from the Departments of Health, Justice, Interior and Local Government, Education, and Social Welfare and Development.

There are rumors that the appointment of Sotto would pave the way for another revamp in the Cabinet supposedly to accommodate other losing TU senatorial candidates, such as Ralph Recto and Tessie Aquino-Oreta, and former Surigao congressman Prospero Pichay.

Other losing Team Unity bets were former Zambales governor Vicente Magsaysay, actor Cesar Montano, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, and former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson.

President Arroyo earlier named her former political spokesman Michael Defensor, another losing TU senatorial bet, as head of Task Force NAIA-3, which was formed to facilitate the opening of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

Sotto’s appointment was reported by The STAR and confirmed by the Palace last week, or more than a month after the one-year ban on appointment to any public post of losing candidates in last year’s election had lapsed.

Sotto has prioritized programs in eradication of illegal drugs in his previous elective posts.

During his last term as senator from 1998 to 2004, he authored RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), which was the basis for the creation of PDEA.

When he was elected vice mayor of Quezon City in 1988, he made anti-illegal drugs program a priority. He was named vice chair of Citizen’s Drugwatch and awarded twice with the International Award of Honor by the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association.

Sotto was given a grand welcome by DDB operatives and employees when he took over as their new chair, replacing Ret. Gen. Anselmo Avenido Jr. – Edu Punay, Evelyn Macairan