DRUG AND SUBSTANCE USED/ABUSED BY THE FILIPINOS IN THE

PHILIPPINES

Case Study
Presented to:
Mary-Anne Dy. Abaigar
Instructress
Samar College
Catbalogan, City

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements In
Bachelor of Science in Criminology

Clariza L. Nalix
Michael Vic F. Magdalera

Student
00307

May 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In an expansive view of the drug problem, drug abuse prevention research could be seen as a

burgeoning domain, encompassing nearly every type of research with a bearing on individual

health and social well-being, from the molecular to the global. However, the purview of this

report is not nearly so expansive. Its purpose is threefold:

 Assess the self-designated drug abuse prevention strategies that have been subjects of

evaluation research, which are limited largely to a few domains of health-oriented

interventions;

 Consider the explicit theoretical basis and methodological adequacy of these evaluation

findings and assess their applicability to diverse population segments; and

 Proffer minimum methodological standards for future evaluation projects.

Within this scope, as defined by the sponsor of the study, the National Institute on Drug Abuse

(NIDA), the committee has framed a limited set of conclusions concerning the direction of future

research. The literature reviewed in this report is devoted nearly entirely to studies of youth

under age 20 and psychoactive drugs that are illegal for young people to purchase: the fully illicit

drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and crack cocaine; the "prescription-only" drugs such as

barbiturates and amphetamines; and the "adults-only" drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

The following summary responses to the specific points of NIDA's charge reflect our reading of

this literature in the light shed by scientific principles, keeping in mind the pragmatic challenges

of conducting research with human subjects in real social institutions on a topic bristling with

emotional and political thorns.

INTRODUCTION

Drug and substance use has a long history in the Philippines. Intoxicating beverages fermented

from rice, sugar cane, and from nipa and coconut palms were popular drinks, and betel leaf

chewing was a common practice (Zarco, 1995). The first mention of narcotic drug (opium) use

was among the “moros” of Mindanao (Zarco, 1995). Prior to the 19th century, use of these

substances was not socially disapproved (Sinha, 2001). When the United States acquired the

Philippines in 1898, the colonial government was confronted by the opium problem in the new

colony. The initial reaction of the Americans was ambivalent. Governor Howard Taft proposed

to take control of the opium monopoly as a source of revenue for the government to defray its

massive public education expenditure but the policy was opposed by other sectors who would

rather see a campaign for narcotics traffic control (Musto, 1991).

Today, the problem of substance use/abuse remains as one of the major social problems in the

Philippines. It was estimated in 2004 that drug users nationwide numbered 3.4 million (Esguerra,

2004). This is despite the very stiff penalties, including death, imposed by the law on the sale and

consumption of prohibited drugs.

One disturbing aspect of the problem is the fact that drug abusers are getting younger. The

statistical figures over the last decade revealed a trend towards a decreasing age. In the 50s, the

age of drug offenders ranged between 40-55 years. In the 80s the average age of drug users was

25. More recent data indicate that initiation to drug use starts at the young age of 8 to 9.

One sector of this young population that is particularly vulnerable to drugs is the socalled street

children. In one country survey the percentage of drug and substance users among street children

was estimated to be between 60 to 100 percent (Postupniy et al., 2002). In the Philippines, out of

an estimated 1.5 million street children in the country half of them are believed to have at one

time or another snorted “rugby” and other aromatic solvents (Bordadora, 2003).
LITERATURE REVIEW

Shahani(2016) Fighting illegal drugs, alongside tackling poverty, is the centerpiece of Duterte’s

platform. Asserting that he will see capital punishment reintroduced for a wide range of crimes,

he vows to elevate drug abuse to a “national security issue” by mounting a relentless crackdown

on syndicates and users, and demolishing illicit laboratories using elite security forces.

How serious is the drug problem in the Philippines? According to the Dangerous Drugs Board’s

2012 National Household Survey, there were around 1.3 million drug users in the country, which

translates to about 1 percent of the population. In 2015, the Philippine Drug Enforcement

Agency (PDEA) reported that a fifth—or 8,629 out of the country’s 42,065 barangays—were

“drug affected,” determined by the presence of at least one user, pusher, manufacturer, or other

drug personality in the area. In Metro Manila, 92 percent of its barangays have some sort of

drug-related problem, though it remains difficult to determine how serious these actually are.

Based on PDEA’s 2014 arrest data, methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu—reportedly used

by blue-collar workers like bus drivers to keep themselves awake—tops the list of most abused

illegal drugs, followed by marijuana and costly party drugs like cocaine and ecstasy.

Dalizon(2015)THE Philippine National Police leadership headed by Deputy Director General

Leonardo A. Espina is pushing for the creation of a permanent PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group

knowing that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency alone cannot fully address the massive

security threat posed by illegal drug trafficking and abuse in the country.

Consider these: a PDEA study showed that nearly 9,000 or 20.51 percent of the country’s total

42,065 barangays are drug-affected. The sad reality is that 92.10 percent of all barangays in the

National Capital Region are drug-affected followed by 33.78 percent from Calabarzon (Cavite,

Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region.

PDEA chair, Undersecretary Arturo G. Cacdac Jr., also noted an alarming increase in the number

of rogue public officials and employees getting involved in illegal drug trafficking and abuse in

the country amid a report which showed that last year alone, a total of 190 government men

composed of 56 elected officials, 49 law enforcers and 85 government employees were arrested

for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

In a letter to Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, Gen.

Espina cited a Department of Justice ruling which ruled that ‘there is nothing in Republic Act

9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 which prohibits the PNP from setting

up a permanent unit as long as it complies with the provisions of RA 9165 on its relationship to

the PDEA.’ Justice Sec. Leila M. de Lima’s July 29, 2014 ruling reversed DOJ Legal Opinion

No. 67 which was on the contrary.

HAQQI(2015) While many countries are relaxing their policies on drugs, the US still enforces

theirs strongly, leading to us to wonder about the 11 US States with the toughest drug laws.

There is no doubt that drugs can be an extremely dangerous item to consume and some of the

more potent ones such as heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine can even result in death.

However, it is also important to consider that laws in the US can often be too tough which can

result in filling up prisons with moderate drug users as well. The US, in this case, can be

compared with other countries who crack down on drugs as well, as seen in the 10 countries with

the toughest drug laws in the world.

In fact, the US is the leading nation in the world when it comes to the incarceration of inmates.

There are an astounding 2.5 million people in the United States who are currently serving time in

jail and around half of such felons are in jail on drug-related charges.
The main drug or the most popular drug in the United States is marijuana. In fact, it is probably

the most popular drug in the entire world. This is mainly due to the fact that it isn’t relatively

hard to cultivate and isn’t a ‘hard’ drug, which is to say that its effects are temporary and not

extreme. In fact, it is impossible to overdose on marijuana. Yet the lives of hundreds of

thousands of people have been potentially ruined due to them being found with just a few grams

of marijuana in their possession. In just 2013, 1.5 million people were arrested on nonviolent

drug-related charges. This is why we have focused on marijuana to determine a state’s attitude

towards drugs, considering its reputation as a gateway drug as well as being the most common

drug in the world.

METHODOLOGY

Major emphasis is given to three aspects of community drug research: estimating the magnitude

of the problem, treatment evaluation, and drug education evaluation. Sources of data on the

incidence and prevalence of drug use, abuse, and addiction are identified as police records, case

registers, treatment program records, and polls and surveys. The strengths and weaknesses of

each of these data sources are discussed. Obstacles to effective evaluation of drug treatment

programs include the vagueness of evaluative findings; lack of agreement on aims, objectives,

and criteria for effectiveness of treatment; the unavailability of appropriate outcome measures;

difficulties in obtaining objective and reliably measured data; practical difficulties in patient

followup. Future directions in treatment evaluation are briefly discussed. Recommended

guidelines for treatment program evaluation include the following: (1) make evaluation a

continuous process to provide timely feedback to program administrators and staff; (2) start with

an explicit statement of the treatment objectives and the criteria for effectiveness; (3) use

systematic, objective, and empirical data; (4) assessment of treatment efficacy should be based
on at least a quasi-experimental research design when true experimental methodology is not

feasible. Research shortcomings of drug education evaluation studies are listed, and future

directions in evaluations of drug education programs are considered. To provide the information

needed for future community intervention in drug abuse, two basic forms of study will be

needed: (1) large-scale, controlled longitudinal studies of intended outcomes to investigate the

long-term impact of programs; and (2) smaller-scale experimental studies to measure the impact

of different approaches to drug education, with emphasis on determining which components of

successful programs contribute the most to producing the intended outcomes. References are

provided. (rcb)

STUDY

The study characterizes the prevalence of drug use among Filipino street children compared with

Filipino non–street children. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 311 street children and 528

non–street children aged 13 to 17 years. Participants were enrolled through 4 nonprofit organizations

and 3 high schools located in Manila, Philippines. After adjustment for age and sex, street children

with little or no contact with their families were 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7-2.3) times

more likely to smoke tobacco, 1.3 (95% CI = 1.2-1.5) times more likely to use alcohol, 36.7 (95% CI

= 16.4-82.0) times more likely to use inhalants, and 5.5 (95% CI = 3.6-8.2) times more likely to use

illegal drugs than their non–street counterparts. Street children who maintained contact with their

families, compared with non–street children, were 8.7 (95% CI = 3.9-19.4) times more likely to use

inhalants and 2.8 (95% CI = 1.7-4.6) times more likely to use illegal drugs. There was no significant

difference in tobacco or alcohol use between street children who maintained contact with their

families and non–street children. All street children were significantly more likely to have been given

or sold a drug in the past 30 days and to have received drug education compared with non–street
children. Filipino street children are at greater risk of abusing drugs than are non–street children, with

street children who do not maintain family contact being at greatest risk.

ANALYSIS

According to the Dangerous Drugs Board’s 2012 National Household Survey, there were around

1.3 million drug users in the country, which translates to about 1 percent of the population. In

2015, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that a fifth—or 8,629 out of

the country’s 42,065 barangays—were “drug affected,” determined by the presence of at least

one user, pusher, manufacturer, or other drug personality in the area. In Metro Manila, 92 percent

of its barangays have some sort of drug-related problem, though it remains difficult to determine

how serious these actually are. Based on PDEA’s 2014 arrest data, methamphetamine

hydrochloride or shabu—reportedly used by blue-collar workers like bus drivers to keep

themselves awake—tops the list of most abused illegal drugs, followed by marijuana and costly

party drugs like cocaine and ecstasy. Shahani(2016)

PDEA study showed that nearly 9,000 or 20.51 percent of the country’s total 42,065 barangays

are drug-affected. The sad reality is that 92.10 percent of all barangays in the National Capital

Region are drug-affected followed by 33.78 percent from Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas,

Rizal and Quezon) region. Dalizon(2015)

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore I conclude Drug abuse in the Philippines is multifactorial, and there is a need to study

these different factors. Furthermore, there is an immediate need to do an epidemiologic study of

the extent of drug abuse, which will significantly help fulfill the need for policy, treatment, and

prevention.
RECOMMENDATION

We recommend that awareness and prevention of drug use are the key to fight the menace of

harmful drugs. We should equip parents, teachers and families on early signs and symptoms of

drug use at home, schools and among friends. We are devoted to creating awareness for non-

addicts to identify and intervene in the hope of preventing tragedies to families, friends, and even

people unknown. We have several programs which mainly focus to the Filipino citizens to have

access to information on drugs and the consequences that most of them are not aware of.

The foremost objective should be to involve educational institutes as partners to fight drugs and

substance, abused by the Filipinos in the Philippines. For that, we are in preparation of the

intensive teachers training programmes on creating awareness among youth. We are also aiming

to include courses and interesting syllabus that educate youth on drug use and its harmful effects

on health.

REFERENCES AND APPENDICES

http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/author/tayyab-haqqi/

http://beta.philstar.com/authors/1462001/lila-ramos-shahani

https://www.jstor.org/stable/26723714

https://ddb.gov.ph//images/other_researches/07-

DRUG_AND_SUBSTANCE_USE_AMONG_FILIPINO_STREET_CHILDREN_IN_AN_

URBAN_SETTING.pdf
CURRICULUM VITAE

Clariza Labong Nalix

Year: 3rd year college student
Course: Bachelor of Science in Criminology
School: Samar College
Location: Lawaan 1 Paranas, Samar – 6703
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 09670149411
Academic Qualification:
Elementary Graduate – in the year 2009 Lawaan Elemintary School
High School Graduate – in the year 2016 Wright National School
Senior High School Graduate – 2020 Samar High School

Case Study
Presented to:
Mary-Anne Dy. Abaigar
Instructress