SOTTO PRODS US TO HELP THE NATION COMBAT DRUGS

ILOILO CITY -- Former senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III of the Team
Unity senatorial slate yesterday said the US government's inability
to help its allies combat drug trafficking was one of the reasons why
drug abuse remains a top dilemma of American law enforcement agencies
in their country.

Sotto said that instead of blaming the Philippines and other
countries for its worsening narcotics problem, the Bush
administration should consider extending help to other governments in
fighting their own drug war.

Sotto, principal author of the Dangerous Drug Code of the Philippines
and an anti-drug abuse advocate, said the US government should send
to the country modern anti-smuggling air- and watercraft to help the
Philippine Coast Guard block drug smugglers from making the country a
stopover for drugs smuggled to the US.

"They have been calling the Philippines a transshipment territory for
illegal drugs in the US. Instead of throwing insults at us, Americans
should help us help their people hooked on drugs, especially the
youth," the former senator said.

He added: "The PCG has only about a dozen watercraft assigned to
guard the coast lines of the country's 7,100 islands. This fact, Mr.
Bush should consider."

Although Sotto believes that the US government is sincere in its war
on drug trafficking, it has not taken any strong effort to determine
the most effective solutions to win.

"The Philippine government can effectively help in this area if it
has enough weapons against drug traffickers. If they believe we are
the transshipment venue, then they should arm our law enforcement
agencies to bust them," he said

Unlike the Philippines, the US has enough weapons, aircraft and water
craft built specifically to stop drug traffickers from entering their
territory, Sotto said.

The Bush government should send the Philippines similar drug-fighting
equipment, he said.