Experts call for overhaul of Philippine drug law

MANILA — Public health and drug policy experts are calling for the repeal of the Philippines’ two-decade-old anti-drug law, saying it perpetuates violence and fails to address drug use as a public health issue.

Speaking at a roundtable hosted by the Drug Policy Reform Initiative, advocates criticized Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, as outdated and harmful to vulnerable communities.

“Harm reduction is caring for everyone in the community by meeting people where they’re at,” said Arline Santos, executive director of the Institute for Politics and Governance.

“We’ve spent years criminalizing drug use, but the result has only been fear, stigma, and more violence,” she said.

“It’s time to start seeing people whose lives happen to include drugs as members of our communities, too.”

Atty. Tetay Mendoza, convenor of the Drug Policy Reform Initiative, said the law has led to widespread stigma and dehumanization of people who use drugs.

“When our drug laws immediately reduce people to violent criminals rather than citizens, they strip away basic human dignity,” Mendoza said.

“Our laws equate drug use with moral failure, and in doing so, they fail to uphold the rights and dignity of Filipinos,” she added.

“Harm reduction means creating policies that care rather than punish.”

Mendoza emphasized the need for a “paradigm shift from punishment to public health, and from exclusion to empathy.”

Dr. RJ Naguit of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians cited the Dangerous Drugs Board’s National Household Survey showing a national drug use prevalence of 2.05%, lower than the global average of 5.6% reported by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

“The government’s own data show that the Philippines’ rate of drug use has been below the global average since 2019, yet our response has been disproportionately violent,” Naguit said.

“The fact is, our country’s drug problem has been overstated to justify violent and punitive policies,” he said.

“We must invest in dignified and evidence-based strategies that save lives.”

The roundtable brought together journalists and experts to explore humane, health-based approaches to drug policy and reshape public narratives around drug use.

Participants encouraged a shift in media framing to emphasize compassion, context, and public health over criminalization.

Advocates expressed support for House Bill No. 11004, or the proposed Public Health Approach to Drug Use Act of 2024, filed by Rep. Perci Cendaña of Akbayan Partylist.

The bill proposes a health-centered framework for drug policy and includes safeguards against privacy violations, torture, corporal punishment, and misinformation.

“The ultimate goal is to move from fear to care,” said Santos.

“Safe communities aren’t built through punishment but through understanding, support, and reform,” she added.

“This means ending Tokhang, ending forced detention in facilities, and giving people choices.”