DDB to provide evidence-based assessment of drug problem

MANILA, Philippines — The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) has given assurance that it will be ready to undertake a scientific study based on a census that will paint a real picture of the current drug situation in the country.

DDB chairman Catalino Cuy said they are set to conduct a census that will actually determine the extent of the problem on illegal drugs. 

He said the planned census would also integrate reports from law enforcement agencies and intelligence information on data analysis. 

“There were previous studies with similar intentions but the results of which did not include data from law enforcement agencies. This time, we will make sure that these will be included and integrated in analyzing data and coming up with statistical figures,” Cuy said.

The study is set to be conducted with the help of the Philippine Statistics Authority once President Duterte approves the General Appropriations Act that includes the P70-million outlay for the program. 

Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier said the P70 million will help the government come up with accurate information on the status of the war on drugs.

The drug census comes after Duterte fired then DDB chairman Benjamin Reyes in May 2017 for supposedly contradicting the government’s official stand on the number of drug users in the country. 

Reyes said there were only 1.8 million drug users, basing his statistics on the DDB’s Nationwide Survey on the Nature and Extent of Drug Abuse in the Philippines in 2015. 

The former DDB chief said the only way to get an absolute figure is to conduct a census. 

Duterte had noted the increasing number of drug users since he sacked Reyes.

From three or four million in 2017, Duterte said it has doubled this year to an estimated seven to eight million drug users.