Palace junks ex-NZ leader’s proposal to decriminalize drug use

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has thumbed down the recommendation of former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark for the decriminalization of the use of drugs as an alternative to the drug war in the Philippines.?Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo yesterday maintained that making drug use a criminal act under Philippine laws is necessary to contain the problem under the local setting. 

“The suggestion of former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark to decriminalize the use of drugs as an alternative to the drug war, similar to the proposal by the European Union made two years ago, had already been thumbed down by the President,” he said.

He added that the strategy to decriminalize drug use as implemented by other countries would not work for the Philippines. 

“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 also said.

He also criticized foreign observers for vilifying the administration’s drug war without understanding the entire problem. 

“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 stressed.

Saying 97 percent of the barangays have already been infiltrated by the drug industry, he believed that decriminalizing drug use would only worsen the problem instead of solving it.