"AN ACT INSTITUTING THE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002, REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO.

6425, AS
AMENDED."

As copies of the Bill had been distributed to the Members, on motion of Rep. Escudero, there being no
objection, the Body dispensed with the reading of the text of the measure without prejudice to its
insertion into the Record of the House.

On further motion of Rep. Escudero, the Chair recognized Rep. Antonio V. Cuenco for his sponsorship
speech.

SPONSORSHIP SPEECH OF REP. CUENCO

At the outset, Rep. Cuenco underscored that the biggest problem of the country at present is the
proliferation of illegal drugs. He assumed that his colleagues already know of the magnitude of the
problem and the terrors it has inflicted so he no longer needs to recite the untold evils, fearsome
statistics and terrible cases of drug abuse.

To show the visage of the drug peril, Rep. Cuenco described the situation in Colombia where powerful
drug lords have become the de facto government for more than 30 years. He commented that these
drug lords have even extended their influence to the US and the latter, despite its all-out support for the
Colombian government, has failed to dismantle or subdue the Colombian drug lords. He opined that the
drug menace in the Philippines has yet to reach Colombian proportions. He however warned that the
country may turn out to be another Colombia in the future if the government does not act quickly and
decisively to solve the country's drug problem.

Whereupon, Rep. Cuenco pointed out that recently, two new vicious developments have occurred in the
Philippines, namely, the rise of "narco-politics" or the entry of drug lords in politics and their surrogate
candidates during elections, and "narco-business" or the entry of drug lords in legitimate business
investments. He shared his apprehension that because the drug lords have unlimited money, the
Philippines may later find its judges and justices, police and military officers, national and local
government officials all under the thumb of the drug lords. He also noted that narco-business would
subject decent and honorable businessmen to unfair competition, drive away available foreign capital
and discourage the influx of foreign investments.

Rep. Cuenco emphasized that even as the government has done many things to stop the drug menace, it
has failed miserably. He also claimed that the situation has gotten worse to the extent that the
Philippines has already become the drug capital of Southeast Asia. He said that with the rule of drug
lords looming on the horizon, Filipinos face the grim prospect that someday, they will cease to exist as a
civilized society, with their Christian tradition and faith blown away by the evil wind. He warned that the
Philippines will suffer tremendously if the government does not worry about the problem and refuse to
find the proper solution.

In addition, Rep. Cuenco predicted that the drug situation in the country will continue to worsen and is
bound to get worst so he challenged the Members to conceive and provide the solution to the drug
problem. He expressed hope that with their united efforts, the Philippines will be drug-free by the year
2010.

In closing, Rep. Cuenco pointed out that the House is set to launch a strong counter-offensive against
the drug lords through House Bill No. 4433. He urged the Members to work together so as to stop the
drug menace.

Whereupon, Rep. Espino informed the Body that RA No. 6425, as amended, antiquated and defective as
it is, poses more of an obstacle than a remedy to the effort of eliminating the drug problem. He noted
that in giving much importance to technical descriptions and categorizations as to who the drug users
and the drug pushers are, and as to the quantity of prohibited substances in one's possession required
to be considered as either, users or pushers, offenders have found ways and schemes to circumvent the
law.

As a result, he said, the country's law enforcers, despite their committed efforts, have been rendered
ineffective in combating the drug menace. This ineffectiveness of the laws and the shortcomings in
enforcing them, he said, had emboldened those in the illegal drug trade to expand their operations.

JOURNAL NO. 72 http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/printjournal.php?congnum=12&id=104