Department of Health: The Country’s Biggest Enabler of the Illegal Drug Trade

Today, My City and Your City (if you are from Cebu) has been anointed as the pilot area of the HARM Reduction Program or simply means the distribution of syringes to drug injecting users for the drug known as Nalbuphine Hydrochloride, more known to its brand, Nubain.

The designated distribution center is the very Barangay Hall of Kamagayan. This program is implemented by the Department of Health in submission to the commands of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes. This program is the highest form of stupidity, for how could you stop drugs and HIV/AIDS if you condone or support these vices? What is worse is that the Dangerous Drugs Board has allowed itself to be used as an instrument to give a color of legality to the program.

The Cebu City Anti Drug Abuse Council has passed a resolution of amplifying its opposition to the foolish program, but our national officials whose principles and sensibilities have been compromised because of international pressures and government hierarchy chose to do what is wrong. How could you right a wrong by doing another wrong?

The only way to stop drugs and HIV/AIDS which is the lame excuse in justifying the giving of syringes is simply to stop using drugs and for people to stop engaging in unnatural sexual acts, like sodomy which is practiced mostly by sexually active homosexuals.

Have these officials forgotten the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Why do we have to allow drug users to continue with their vices? We allow the giving of syringes just because these fools refuse to stop injecting drugs in their bodies? I do not blame the injecting drugs users, it is given and it is presumed that they are fools and have no sense of lucidity and clarity of minds, but what is despicable is for these national and local officials for facilitating this stupidity? The people who support this are crazier than the very addicts they allegedly want to help.

The Department of Health if they have so much funds, that they are giving syringes to drug dependents why not focus on the basic medical and health needs of our countrymen? Are they not aware that there are many district hospitals that have no medicines? Even for fever and cough? Not even for bandages? Even for minor injuries?

My protest is why does it have to be in Brgy. Kamagayan? When the citicenter the place where the shooting ranges or when kubol kubol used to be has already been demolished? Why make it the distribution center? Do they intend to revive the illegal drug trade? In the end, it is very simple, the Department of Health is the biggest enabler of the drug trade for instead of campaigning for people to stop using drugs, they are campaigning the drug users to continue injecting drugs as long as they use unused syringes.

Despite this stupid policy of the Department of Health and the Dangerous Drugs Board, we in Cebu City, the great Cebuano people will continue to encourage and give the order to all our law enforcement officers, from the Brgy Tanods, PNP, PDEA and NBI to arrest and apprehend anyone who carries, distributes, administers and use nubain and syringes.

My snappy salute to the Barangay Tanods of Kamagayan for the seizure and arrest of syringe and nubain users the day after national officials from the DDB and DOH visited Cebu City to promote the program. Cebuanos are no fools, we may be hospitable to our visitors but we do not tolerate and condone stupidity, we fight illegal drugs, we do not support the drug syndicates just like what others in government do.

We will be vigilant, and the next time we will be doing, is to arrest any official especially from Imperial Manila who will distribute syringes to injecting drug users in Cebu City. They may have amnesia of what the law is, they may be cowards for bending their knees to foreign organizations, but we sons of Lapulapu will spare no one. We will arrest them and show the entire nation that even though the President supports them, THE LAW IS NOT ON THEIR SIDE. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW, NOT EVEN NATIONAL OFFICIALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (who are not ashamed of the scandals of the highly irregular purchase of vaccines and the ebola publicity stunt blunder).

Image Credit: evinhughes.wordpress.com

About the Author: Clarence Paul V. Oaminal is a lawyer and author of ‘The Textbook on The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002’. He is the Vice-chairman and Undersecretary of the Dangerous Drugs Board and is the current adviser and presiding officer of Cebu City Anti-Drug Abuse Council. He also hosts the local advocacy program ‘Krimen ug Drugas’ in CCTN Channel 47.