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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Review of illegal drugs law set -- DOJ

Review of illegal drugs law set -- DOJ

Published Dec 7, 2023 05:22 am

The executive department is set to review the law on illegal drugs under Republic Act No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres said on Thursday, Dec. 7, there would be a drug summit where various stakeholders would have a change to review, assess, and recommend changes to RA 9165.

The review was disclosed by Andres during the last day today, Dec. 7, of the two-day National Jail Decongestion Summit spearheaded by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) composed of the Supreme Court, the DOJ, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The summit is aimed at finding solution to heavy congestion in all jail and other prison facilities nationwide.  Based on reports, the congestion is as high as 358 percent.

“The next big project would be the drug summit where we will have a chance to review this law together with all the important stakeholders and this will lead to amendments of the law so that less people will be incarcerated in relation to drug cases,” Andres said. 

He said that "about 70,000 suspects are charged with drug-related cases.” 

“While we are going against low-level offenders in a different manner, we will continue to be hard on big-time drug dealers and suppliers,” said Andres, who oversees the DOJ’s law enforcement cluster, the National Prosecution Service (NPS), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

He disclosed that there have been 246,246 new drugs cases filed before the courts this year.

“With the life span of these cases resolved in three years time, you can imagine an influx of 100,000 new PDLs a year,” he lamented.

“And that will exacerbate the situation (in jails) unless we do something about it,” he pointed out. 

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