DRIVERS BIGGEST DRUG ABUSERS, SAYS LINA

INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. said the
transport industry is the sector most badly affected by the illegal
drug problem.

Lina said records culled from drug rehabilitation centers showed that
drivers were the most common users of prohibited drugs. He said this
was especially true of long-haul drivers who carry goods between
distant points throughout the country.

"They use illegal drugs, particularly shabu (methamphetamine
hydrochloride), to keep awake during the long drives. Unfortunately,
most of them unwittingly end up as drug dependents," Lina said.

Lina, concurrently Dangerous Drug Board chairman, said that in
response to the findings, a number of transport groups recently signed
a memorandum of understanding with the departments of Interior and
Local Government, Transportation and Communication, Health, and
Justice, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the DDB to form
Manibela Kontra Droga (Makondroga).

Lina said the government, through Makondroga, aims to mobilize some
one million drivers, conductors and operators to help in the campaign
against illegal drugs.

"The MOU formalizes the common vision of government and private
anti-illegal drugs organizations to cleanse the transport sector of
drug users and to prevent the commission of drug-related crimes in the
streets," Lina said.

Under the MOU, Makondroga shall assist the government in removing from
public roads drivers found positive for illegal drug use, and shall
enshrine public safety and convenience as primordial motives for
drug-free driving.

The DILG head said Makondroga's launching is timed for the
government's renewed and heightened anti-drug campaign this month.

February is also the month the government will launch Lakbay Kontra
Droga, a caravan which shall cover the entire country to educate the
citizenry on the dangers of illegal drugs.