City dads clash on syringe distribution

CEBU, Philippines - Veteran Councilors Edgardo Labella and Augustus Pe have opposing views on the reported move of the Department of Health to distribute syringes to heroin addicts to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The distribution in Cebu in Barangay Kamagayan is implemented as a Harm Reduction Program, but Labella, chairman of the City Council committee on laws, believes the program promotes a culture of drug dependency.

Labella said handing out syringes will not solve the problem, but rather adds fuel to the fire by sending the wrong signal to drug addicts.

“I am alarmed because that would be promoting culture of drug dependency. You cannot solve a problem by adding another problem,” Labella said.

Cebu City has recorded 156 cases of diseases contracted through the sharing of needles.

In a separate interview, Pe, chairman of the Council’s committee on dangerous drugs and peace and order, said he could not blame the city health department for adopting the program. He said the health officials are simply “doing their job.”

“HIV is alarming than drug abuse,” Pe said.

For example, he said, the city government has attempted to regulate Nubain twice, but the move did not prosper after drug companies opposed the regulation.

If the Dangerous Drugs Board sees it alarming, Pe said the board should “work” and do their job in regulating Nubain.

“Ako lang klarohon nga dili ni mayo, but DDB should look at itself and do their work,” Pe said.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III, former chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, described the distribution of syringe as not only alarming but unlawful under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Sotto said the program is a product of 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. 

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

Tac-an said that while they recognize Barangay Kamagayan as one of the hot spots of drugs here, they have never been to the area to actually distribute syringes.

Tac-an, however, refused to comment on Sotto’s statement, saying it is the DOH central office in Manila that should be coordinating with PDEA.

She said that the Harm Reduction Program is a DOH program adopted here upon recommendation of the World Health Organization. The advocacy for the use of clean syringes is also just a part of the Harm Reduction Program.

During his privilege speech earlier, Sotto urged that an inquiry be undertaken on the distribution of syringes. (THE FREEMAN)