By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
MALACAÑANG has issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 53 directing all government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs), “to immediately mobilize their assets and take an active role” in the government’s war on drugs campaign.
Signed on Nov. 12 by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, MC 53 noted that Executive Order (EO) No. 15 (s. 2017), which created the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) and the National Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force, provides that the National Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force composed of members of law enforcement agencies, including members of the institutions called upon for assistance, have been tasked to undertake sustained anti-illegal drug operations.
The MC said that “it is the policy of the State to pursue an effective campaign against trafficking and use of dangerous drugs through an integrated system of planning, implementation and enforcement of anti-illegal drug abuse policies, programs, and projects.”
President Rodrigo R. Duterte directs “all government offices, agencies and instrumentalities, including GOCCs and SUCs, to immediately mobilize their assets and take an active role in the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, in accordance with their respective mandates.”
Last month, Mr. Duterte signed Executive Order No. 66 to institutionalize the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS), which the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) formulated to address the drug problem in the country.
This order directs all government offices, departments, bureaus, agencies and offices, including GOCCs and SUCs, to “implement the PADS in accordance with their respective mandates.”
The DDB’s PADS “outlines the balanced efforts of the government to strengthen its campaign against prohibited drugs and their precursors, and contribute to international efforts to counter the worldwide illegal drug problem.”

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