NEW DDB CHAIR SOTTO LAUNCHES 'WAR' VS DANGEROUS DRUGS

MANILA, Philippines -- Former Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Tuesday
formally took over the helm of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and
other agencies involved in the crusade against illegal drugs, but said
that as a "war machine" the agency needs fine tuning.

Amid criticisms that it was part of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo's political payback, Sotto accepted Tuesday his
appointment to the post and lashed out at critics, saying politics was
out of the question when it came to the campaign against the drug menace.

In his speech during the turnover ceremonies held at the Philippine
Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) headquarters in Quezon City, Sotto
emphasized that given the limitations of the DDB in terms of manpower
and budget, "failure and pessimism should not be in our
dictionary."

He revealed that based on the report given to him by outgoing DDB
chairman Anselmo Avenido, the agency has 107 personnel with an
insufficient budget "who are expected to reform the lives of millions
of regular and casual users and to shield 90 million more from the
danger of illegal drugs."

Tito's Motto

Sotto assured that his enthusiasm in taking over the post will not be
dampened by fault finders as he shared his personal motto: "What you
think of me is none of my business. Today, I make the war against
drugs my business. Cross the line of drugs, we will make you our business."

The campaign against illegal drugs, he said, is a war machine that
needs constant maintenance and pointed out that with the help of the
legislature, through Sen. Gregorio Honasan, who chairs the
congressional oversight committee on public order and dangerous drugs,
"we can fine tune issues that need to be addressed."

In an interview after the rites, Sotto told reporters, "When it comes
to the issue of illegal drugs, politics is out of the question" as he
maintained that he would focus on addressing the drug menace and
buckle down to work.

He added that if critics did not want political also-rans appointed to
government positions, they should seek a change in the
Constitution.

Fitting Successor

In his farewell speech, Avenido described Sotto as a fitting successor
to the DDB chairmanship being the principal author of Republic Act
9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and expressed certainty that
the gains achieved by the agency during his stint would be sustained.

He said that since he assumed his post as the first full-time chairman
of the DDB, under RA 9165 which created the agency, the policy-making
body has delivered 128 landmark issuances that led to the successful
implementation of the national anti-drug strategy and action plan.

As a result, he said the price of a gram of shabu (methamphetamine
hydrochloride) -- from P2,000 in 2002 -- has tripled to its current
street value of P6,500 per gram which shows a dwindling in supplies of
the illegal drug.

"The drug situation greatly improved. During our watch, we have done
our part and done it well," Avenido said.

He pointed out that Sotto's "experience as an anti-drug crusader and
co-author of the dangerous drugs law will contribute immeasurably to
the improvement of the agency's capability, competency, and integrity
towards achieving the vision of a drug-free country."