Davao del Norte Governor Anthony del Rosario asked the national government to create an oversight body that will oversee the concerted efforts of the national and local governments in the fight against the illegal drug menace.

On the heels of President Rodrigo Duterte’s position to ban the Philippine National Police from the nationwide anti-drug campaign because of corruption, the governor stressed the need to establish an oversight body to orchestrate the anti-drug efforts of national agencies and local government units around the country.

“Dapat talaga may national counterpart ang mga local anti-drug abuse councils,” del Rosario underscored, during the maiden meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC)-XI recently at the Provincial Capitol of Compostela Valley.

The governor revealed the dilemma of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (PADAC) ensuing from the absence of the anti-drugs oversight body that should monitor progress of drug operations.

He said that the respective barangay, municipal and city ADACs refer to the PADAC for their drug law enforcement, prevention and rehabilitation efforts.

However, the PADACs are in a quandary as to what national agency they are supposed to directly address their concerns and issues.   

He cited as an example the seamless coordination of the efforts of the national and local governments in relation to natural and man-made disasters, with the establishment of disaster risk reduction councils from the local up to the national level.

Del Rosario, as well, lamented the lack of proper administrative unit to take care of the records and perform other secretarial duties for the PADAC.

He also voiced the lack of clear-cut policy for the drug surrenderees, which leaves some LGUs to waste vital resources on rather ineffective interventions that are intended to in help the victims.

“Some LGUs use government resources for rather ineffective measures because we are not properly guided,” he said.

The governor further bared his intention to expand the Luntiang Paraiso Regional Rehabilitation Center, which can only accommodate 100 patients, to help reintegrate more reformed drug dependents into the mainstream of society.