Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III is seeking a major overhaul in the country’s anti-drug campaign with the filing of a bill that would create a central authority under the Office of the President to lead enforcement, prosecution, prevention, and rehabilitation efforts.
In a statement released Sunday, Sotto emphasized that Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, needs an update after more than two decades in use. “The law, as presently formulated, needs retrofitting, so to speak, like any structure or machine in constant use for 23 years now,” he said.
The proposed measure, titled the Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority Act, would scrap the existing Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB). In their place, a more streamlined body—the Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority—would be established to consolidate and coordinate the government’s anti-drug strategy.
Sotto said stronger supervision over enforcement activities is key to shaping more effective policies. “Supervision of enforcement activities is desirable to map out policies for more effective anti-illegal drugs campaigns,” he noted.
The new agency would oversee five core bureaus: Anti-Drug Enforcement, Anti-Drug Prosecution, Anti-Drug Prevention, Anti-Drug Rehabilitation, and Anti-Drug Policy Formulation. Enforcement duties currently handled by PDEA would be redistributed to units within the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Customs, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other relevant agencies.
The proposed agency will be led by a secretary appointed by the President, who will also handle its day-to-day operations. Funding will be sourced from the current budgets of PDEA and DDB, with subsequent financing drawn from the General Appropriations Act.
