House okays Anti-Drug Abuse Councils Law

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on final reading House Bill 7812 or An Act Creating Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) in all Provinces, Cities, Municipalities and Barangays.

The bill principally authored by Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jam” L. Baronda aims to institutionalize ADACs in all levels of governance.

The ADAC refers to a multi-sectoral council composed of local officials and representatives of various community organizations tasked to spearhead the planning, implementation, and monitoring of all local anti-drug abuse programs, projects, and activities.

It also serves as an information-gathering mechanism which shall monitor and report to appropriate authorities suspicious illegal drug personalities, facilities, and activities within their jurisdiction.

The passage of this bill means that ADACs will now be mandatory in each local government unit. In the proposed measure there is even a penal provision against chief executives should they fail to constitute ADACs.

Presently, there are ADACs in some parts of the country but these are not active. The institutionalization will mean giving it structure and organization and making it part of the system.

As per the bill, each council are mandated to send their recommendations to their local sanggunian for the adoption of measures suited to their circumstances.

The bill also delineates the specific roles of the provincial, city, and municipal anti-drug abuse councils to guarantee that there is no overlap or discrepancy in any inter-local governmental effort.

It also proposes the creation of an anti-drug abuse office to maintain the institutional setup necessary for implementing people-centered, evidence- and rights-based programs.

The bill seeks creation of a drug rehabilitation program consisting of medical rehabilitation, reformatory rehabilitation, and community-based drug rehabilitation.

The ADACs will also submit monthly reports to higher councils for annual monitoring and evaluation reports. These data will play a crucial role in our goal to craft a comprehensive anti-drug policy.

It also mandates the concerned local government units to appropriate 2 percent of their annual budget to fund the creation and operation of the ADACs and implement the provisions of the proposed law.

In a speech after the approval of the bill on second reading, Rep. Baronda thanked the Committee on Dangerous Drugs headed by Rep. Ace Barbers for leading the hearings on the new law.

“The institutionalization of the Anti-Drug Abuse Council is the institutionalization of a system of coordination and proper monitoring of drug-related incidents. There will be ground-to-top level gathering of data as it mandates the cooperation of all political units. These data that will be collected are invaluable to us legislators. These will help us formulate cohesive and functional policies that will help us in this fight against drugs,” Baronda said.

Baronda noted that the COVID-19 pandemic may have motivated some people to sell drugs due to poverty.

“Marami ang kumakapit sa mabilis at malaking kita sa droga para makatawid sa pang araw-araw. We have not yet eradicated this menace nor brought it to the very minimum. This evil called illegal drugs remains to be a threat to us and to the next generation. Our children and their children still face the possibility of falling victims to this evil. We owe it to them to nip this existing threat in the bud, not tomorrow but today,” she added.