By Jelly F. Musico
MANILA, Aug. 19 (PNA) – Senator Grace Poe pushed on Wednesday for the passage of a bill providing an affordable drug rehabilitation for beneficiaries of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
In her sponsorship of the Senate Bill No. 2843, Poe said she and Senator Vicente Sotto III, one of the main advocates against illegal drugs, believe that enforcement of the law against drug users and pushers are not enough.
”The rehabilitation of the users that will actually help the young of today who are dependent on drugs. We need to have these drug rehabilitation centers provided for by our PhilHealth programs and benefits,” Poe said.
Poe said SB 2843 is consistent with the constitutional axiom that the state must adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development.
The lady senator said based on the latest data of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), an estimated 1.7 million Filipinos are hooked on drugs and “is on a continuous spike, with the Filipino youth mainly victimized by the menace of drugs.”
”Illegal drug use is a significant problem in the country today,” Poe said.
She said the drugs that are most abused in the Philippines are marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine (locally known as shabu), opium, ecstasy “and such inhalants as nitrates and even gasoline and solvents.”
”The problem of drug addiction is aggravated by the increasing new sets of designer drugs – more dangerous and more vile, in effects and in costs,” Poe added.
Poe said the cost of drug addiction is high and it is equated in the high incidence of crimes.
Under the bill, Poe said the definition of drug dependent should be incorporated in the PhilHealth Law.
”Affordable rehabilitation treatment of drug dependents is integrated as one of the benefit packages that may be elected or an option by a PhilHealth member,” she said.
At present, Poe said drug dependency treatment is among those excluded from the benefit package of PhilHealth.
”I expect that when passed as a law, PhilHealth will embark on a health technology assessment (HTA) which will provide affordable drug rehabilitation to arrest the increasing incidence of drug abuse and dependency,” the lady senator said. (PNA)