Sotto on DOH Free Syringe Program: Preventing AIDS, promoting drugs

CEBU, Philippines – Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III is alarmed by the program implemented by the Department of Health (DOH) providing syringes to drug users hoping to pre-vent the spread of the dreaded HIV-AIDS.

Sotto said that the program of the DOH that has reportedly been implemented in Cebu City is not only alarming but unlawful under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 or Republic Act 9165.

The health authorities in the city said that they have implemented such as a Harm Reduction Program.

This program is being implemented in barangay Kamagayan and is implemented by a non-government organization and health officials.

Sotto had described the program as a misguided mindset of some sectors.

The Dangerous Drugs Board's Technical Working Group, Sotto said, has identified Kamagayan as the barangay with the highest number of Nubain abusers. 

"Nubain is the new dangerous drug that is being injected. They say that HIV-AIDS is prevalent in the area. But providing syringes to drug abusers is a crime under Article II of Republic Act No. 9165, partic ularly Sections 5 and Section 10 that pertain to the administration of dangerous drugs," Sotto said.

To "administer" is defined by the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 as "any act of introducing any dangerous drug into the body of any person, with or without his/her knowledge, by injection, inhalation, ingestion or other means, or of committing any act of indispensable assistance to a person in administering a dangerous drug to himself/herself unless administered by a duly licensed practitioner for purposes of medication."

Sotto stressed that it is time to be made aware of this contradiction in practices and policies.

"We cannot be hitting the drug criminals with our right hand and providing them with the tools of their crime with our left hand. We have to have a policy consistency. We must nip this DOH trend of thought in the bud or else we shall be sending mixed signals to the youth of the land," the senator said.

No Distribution

Dr. Ilya Tac-an, Head of the City Health Department's STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and AIDS Detection Unit denied that they distributed syringes to drug users under the Harm Reduction Program.

Though they recognize barangay Kamagayan as one of the drug hot spots, they have never been to the area to actually distribute syringes for use in illegal activities.

They however provide education, free check-up, and counseling to those who are identified as injecting drug users by teaching and discouraging them from sharing needles.

Tac-an refused to comment on the statement of Sotto, because she said that it is the Department of Health in Manila that should be coordinating with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Dangerous Drugs Board.

She said that the Harm Reduction Program is a DOH program adopted here as it is recommended by the World Health Organization.

The advocacy for the use of clean syringes is also just a part of the Harm Reduction Program.

They have other activities like providing free counseling and check-up to female sex workers and men having sex with other men, addressing those who have not started doing risky behaviors.

Tac-an said that their programs are focusing more on injecting drug users because Cebu City already has a concentrated epidemic of HIV among the group.

Of the 156 cases recorded since January this year, 55 percent of them contracted the disease through the sharing of needles.

They fear the spread of the disease to the general population through injection because it will be harder to control when it reaches that situation.

Once a person is infected through injection, he can easily infect his sexual partner and the chain effect will begin.

"We encourage those with risk behavior to submit for testing so that early on, they will know their status," Tac-an said.

Not Against Program, But

Cebu City Police Office Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe has nothing against Department of Health distributing syringes to the public reportedly to prevent the spread of HIV.

However, since syringes are primarily used in taking in Nubain which is regulated under City Ordinance 1427, individuals who are caught of using it apart from pre-venting HIV, will be arrested, Buenafe said.

"By mere possession of syringe, we cannot conclude that they are using Nubain, but if this thing is found with illegal drugs, then kami sa police, we will enforce the law," Buenafe said.

The CCPO Director said he has nothing against this move of the DOH, but the department could also resort to other measures aside from this.

"If that's their move because they are also only for the prevention of HIV, okay, but it doesn't mean na 'yun na lang ang gagawin natin to preempt HIV," he added.

Cebu City Ordinance 1427 prohibits the sale of Nubain without the proper prescription from licensed physicians accredited by the Dangerous Drugs Board while the maximum penalty for selling or possessing Nubain is a fine of P5,000.

Nubain (nalbuphine hydrochloride) is used by hospitals as painkiller drugs. Except for Cebu, all places in the country do not regulate the use of his drug. - with Niña G. Sumacot/NLQ (FREEMAN)