In the Philippines nearly half of drug abuse cases reportedly start from 15 to 19 years old with a statistics of 1.8 million Filipinos who are using illegal drugs according to Dangerous Drug Board (DDB).
The Duterte Administration "war on drugs" is one among the many controversial way of eliminating the drug problem in the country. "War on drugs" is one of the Duterte's campaign promises way back 2016 national election, to eliminate the problem of illegal drugs abuse in the country. Way back in 1980's, the number of "methamphetamine hydrochloride" or locally known as "shabu" users in the country had increased. In 1990's, it was the time where the illegal drug problem in the country worsened and by the late 1990's to 2000's the Philippines become a net producer and exporter of "methamphetamine hydrochloride" or "shabu/poor man's cocaine".
In 2015, the Philippine Dangerous Drug Board (DDB) study reported that the country had around 1.8 million " Current users" of illegal drugs and around 4.8 million "lifetime users" those person who have used illegal drugs at least once in their lifetime. Based on the data of Philippne Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) there is a high increase in the incidence of drug abuse and the most common illegal drugs that used is the methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.
Aside from these statistics of drug abuse there are also 1.4 million individuals who voluntarily surrendered and are now continuing with their drug rehabilitation and treatment. These illegal drug surrenderees is one of the significant result of the "war on drugs" of the Duterte administration. Unfortunately, Duterte administration's approach on eliminating illegal drugs gained critics because of the inhumane and misguided and inflicted damage and negative consequences on the human rights situation of the country. But for President Rodrigo Duterte his campaign against the illegal drugs is just a matter of public interest and public order. President Rodrigo Duterte already said that his concern is just not the "human rights" but also "human lives" which according to the president is protecting the Filipinos especially the youth from the danger and influence of illegal drugs.
In view of the severity of the drug problem in the Philippines, the battle against illegal drugs under and even beyond the Duterte administration is urgent and appropriate to date. However, since the Philippine drug problem is multi-dimensional, profoundly embedded in the Filipino people's systematic causes of poverty, injustice and impotence, the Philippine government must ensure a more systematic and holistic approach and should not only address the problem of illegal drugs as a problem of crime and public order but should also pay more attention to it.
In order to ensure it's effectiveness the government should also continue to seek a multi-sectoral alliance between the government, the Barangay community, the media, the church, and civil society in the fight against illegal drugs. Continuous reassessment of anti illegal drug policies and methods is also a vital thing for the government to do and decide what approaches and strategies that are effective and what needs to be modified.
