OPENING STATEMENT

Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. As all of you may very well know, this Committee was formed and organized in order to address those two concerns of Philippine society. Surely, the need to secure and maintain peace and order is one that is felt by all sectors of society, down to the last household. Sa parehong paraan, itong ating kagustuhan na masugpo itong drug menace ay hindi natin maipagkakaila. Each one of us present in these halls holds a picture of what the ideal Philippines would look. And this picture, I am sure, entails a proper and adequate solution to the drug problem, as well as a vision to a peaceful Philippines.

How fitting, then, that today we are considering bills that directly respond to this. Una, pag-uusapan natin ang pag aamiyenda ng Republic Act No. 9165, o ang Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, tungo sa pagtatag ng mga DOH administered drug rehabilitation center sa bawat probinsya at lungsod. We shall also see if establishing a Bureau on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control will be helpful in carrying out the mandates of the DOH as stipulated in R.A. 9165.

Second, we shall also be discussing the proposal of mandating the use of body-worn cameras for our law enforcement personnel. Many of you are probably aware that when I was Chief of the Philippine National Police, I supported the inclusion of the procurement of body-worn cameras in our budget. The idea is that these body-worn cameras contribute greatly to improved public safety as well as police protection and accountability. Of course, we know that there are privacy and security concerns that may be raised, and so I hope that openness of mind and heart shall prevail.

Once again, I invite everyone in this room to imagine what your ideal Philippines looks like. Keep that vision in your mind. In the process, allow me also to assure you that the bills we shall discuss today, along [with] your insights, comments, and suggestions, all hope to bring us closer to achieving this vision.

And before I close, I would like to inform everyone that this committee is in receipt of your position papers and I am very thankful for all your comments, suggestions that you have incorporated in your position paper. They are very, very valuable lalong-lalo na 'yung mga comments and suggestions galing from DDB, 'yung sa NBI. Maganda 'yung pagkakagawa ng position paper ng NBI. I appreciate the PDEA and also the PNP. Alam niyo kasi 'pag hindi maganda ang pagkagawa nitong mga batas na ito, totoo 'yon, hindi lang tayo ang apektado, hindi lang kayo ang apektado na nasa active service ngayon kundi 'yung pulis natin at mga agents natin in the future 'pag mali-mali itong ginawa natin ngayon kaya I appreciate your inputs and rest assured that all your inputs will be given due consideration in the drafting of our substitute bill that will be attached to our committee report to the plenary. So thank you po sa inyong mga recommendations at insights.