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BY JOHN JOSHUA MASCARIAS, Intern
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MANILA – Sen. Leila de Lima urged her colleagues to investigate the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s plan to mark drug-free homes with stickers.
The use of stickers and drop-boxes for drug leads is “even more prone to more human rights violations,” de Lima said in Senate Resolution No. 476.
On Aug. 9, Cavite police implemented the “Drug Free Home” sticker campaign as part of the government’s Oplan Hangyu, a nonviolent approach in the fight against illegal drugs.
“While the government should continue to pursue measures to address trafficking of illegal drugs, it should not result in violations of the Constitution or the compromise of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” she said.
De Lima, herself detained on alleged drug offense, also urged Congress to monitor the implementation of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs to ensure the protection of human rights.
This latest campaign is similar to former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim’s spray-painting campaign against suspected drug users, which the Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional in 2000, the senator said.
“By labelling households as drug-free, the program promotes the ostracization of residents of households who refused or was denied the stickers,” the former Justice secretary said.
This “could end up forcing such households to prove their innocence in violation of their constitutional rights,” she added./PN
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