PH’s drug abuse indicators not same as China’s

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sincerely appreciates the Inquirer for publishing stories on the agency’s significant accomplishments and advocacies.

In its Aug. 16, 2013 issue, a news article titled, “In Palayan summit, PDEA says PH drug woes worsen,” I was reported to have said that the drug problem in the Philippines is worse than that of China, because out of 98 million Filipinos, 1.7 million are drug users, compared to China, which has 650,000 drug users against a population of 1 billion.

May we humbly clarify this report and emphasize that the data on drug users in the Philippines are based on a Household Survey conducted by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) in 2008. China, on the other hand, measures its drug situation by the number of people found positive for illegal drug use through a “drug test.” A comparison of the statistics would definitely give an impression that our country’s drug problem is in a far worse situation.

I have recommended to the DDB that its report on the country’s number of illegal drug users be based on the result of actual drug tests and the number of admissions to drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation facilities since this is the methodology used by other countries.

As to current data, we are still waiting for the results of the 2012-2013 DDB Household Survey which is ongoing.

I hope I was able to clarify the drug situation in the Philippines, and look forward to your continued support to the national campaign against illegal drugs.

—ARTURO G. CACDAC JR.,

director general,

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency