Iloilo City: Former Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Thursday proposed the creation of a Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority to unify and strengthen the country's fight against illegal drugs. Speaking at the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas proclamation rally in Iloilo City, Sotto stressed the need to consolidate the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) under a single authority that would be in charge of enforcement, prosecution, and rehabilitation.
According to Philippines News Agency, Sotto, who was instrumental in the passage of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, said the integration aims to streamline efforts against illegal drugs and substance abuse. "Those are two different animals. Illegal drugs is different from drug abuse. And that has been the problem of the other administrations," Sotto said during the press conference ahead of the rally. "By incorporating both, illegal drugs can be addressed by prosecution and enforcement, but drug abuse can be addressed by prevention and rehabilitation."
Aside from his anti-drug platform, Sotto emphasized the need for rightsizing the government, citing that personnel services consume 65 percent of the P6.3 trillion national budget. "We're bloated. Kailangan i-streamline natin, i-rightsize natin yan (We're bloated. We need to streamline and rightsize it)," he said. He explained that his proposed drug enforcement authority fits into this effort by eliminating redundancies and making government operations more efficient.
The administration's Senate slate includes former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos; Makati Mayor Abigail Binay; Senators Francis Tolentino, Pia Cayetano, Lito Lapid, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., and Imee Marcos; former Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao; Sotto; ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo; and Las Pi±as Lone District Rep. Camille Villar. Other candidates also presented their platforms during the rally and the press conference.
Pacquiao vowed to push for increased funding for small and medium enterprises to generate employment. "Sisiguraduhin ko na magkaroon ng funding, budget itong tinatawag nating sustainable livelihood program para sa mga Pilipino nang sa gayon mapalakas natin ang mga small, medium enterprises (I will ensure that there is funding and budget for our sustainable livelihood program for Filipinos so that we can strengthen SMEs)," Pacquiao said.
Abalos highlighted the need to amend the Local Government Code to streamline policy implementation. "Para sa akin, as far as the Local Government Code is concerned, dapat ma-amyendahan agad ito nang sa ganoon ay talagang mabilis, ma-streamline, at maramdaman ng ating mga kababayan on the ground ang mga polisiya na napondohan na (For me, as far as the Local Government Code is concerned, it should be amended immediately so that policies that have already been funded can be quickly streamlined and felt by our countrymen on the ground)," he said.
Villar focused on job creation and housing, as she pushed for innovative solutions to the country's longstanding problems. "Because I belong to the millennial generation, naniniwala ako na kailangan ng bagong pananaw, posibleng mga bagong solusyon at mga bagong aksyon na nababagay kasi marami ng pagbabago ngayon (Because I belong to the millennial generation, I believe that we need new perspectives, possible new solutions, and new actions that are appropriate because there have been many changes now)," Villar said.
Tulfo, for his part, proposed anti-inflationary measures, wage increases, and improved healthcare access. "Mataas po ang presyo ng bilihin (Prices of goods are high). We need proper laws to prevent this," Tulfo said.
