The Commission on Human Rights continues to decry the harms and social cost of drugs and substance abuse to people and communities. We have since expressed support for human rights based approach to policies and initiatives that prioritise health, rehabilitation, and socio-economic interventions for the treatment and recovery of persons who use drugs.
Senate Bill No. 48, as introduced by Senator Bong Go, seeks to establish a Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in every province. In the bill’s explanatory note, it underscores: “While it is true that the national government has consistently centered its campaign against drugs on crime prevention and eradication, it has not lost sight of its duty to aid in the recovery of those whose lives have been destroyed by illegal drugs.”
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) lauds the intent behind the bill in providing care, treatment, and after-care for persons who use drugs. Further, it aims to enhance their physical, psychological and social capability to cope with common problems complemented with social reintegration services. Using a restorative justice perspective in addressing the drug problem is worthy to cite.
In further improving the bill, CHR presents recommendations from a human-rights based approach to drug treatment and recovery. In particular, we remind the government of the 2015 consensus in the East and Southeast Asia Region, alongside the joint statements from the United Nations in March 2012 and June 2020, calling for the closure of compulsory centers for drug use and instead investing in voluntary community-based approaches.
Compulsory centers are facilities where those known or accused of using drugs are involuntary admitted for claimed treatment for violating a criminal or civil law, or government policy on drug use. In this Philippines, the distinction between jails and rehabilitation centers blurs as people are often confronted with the choice to be imprisoned or bargain for lesser penalty that usually comes with a commitment for compulsory rehabilitation.
CHR stresses that the mandatory nature of rehabilitation breaches a person’s right to health, particularly when it comes to the acceptability and quality of intended interventions.
In accordance with standards in upholding the right to health, access to voluntary and evidence-based services must be done, instead of compulsory methods that breach the right to informed consent. CHR recommends that the proposed measure pivot towards voluntary community-based responses and to treat drug dependence as a health condition through evidence-informed and rights-based approaches.
In similar vein, we caution against the continued use of a watch list, which subjects people who use drugs to surveillance, including surveillance drug test. We reiterate that this practice contravenes the fundamental rights to due process and the right to privacy and confidentiality.
It must also be stressed that a genuinely person-centered approach towards rehabilitation should seek to empower people who use drugs instead of perpetuating stigmatizing perspectives and language that diminish human dignity. Using the term “addicts” and “victims” to describe people who use drugs is disempowering and can be used as justification to remove their autonomy and coerce them into programs and treatments. We urge the creation of an enabling environment that will encourage people who use drugs to voluntarily seek treatment and support.
To this end, the CHR is ready and willing to work with the office of Senator Go in ensuring that the proposed bill is consistent with international human rights standards. We continue to hope for a humane, long-term, and sustainable policy shift in the drug campaign to truly address the complexity of the problem. ###
Related references:
“Report of the Third Regional Consultation on Compulsory Centres for Drug Users in Asia and the Pacific” (2015),
“Regional Report on Compulsory Treatment and Rehabilitation in East and Southeast Asia” (2022),