Instead of criticizing the Duterte administration’s intensified war against illegal drugs and drug-related crimes, the European Union has now decided to offer its assistance to the Philippine government’s anti-drug campaign, particularly through the treatment of drug addicts.
According to EU Ambassador to Manila Franz Jessen, the EU is currently studying the possibility of shifting its funding within the Philippine health sector towards the rehabilitation of drug dependents.
“We are trying to see if we should change the funding and focus more on the drug issue which is a key project for the government,” Jessen revealed during an interview on the sidelines of the launching of the book “Ties That Bind: Celebrating 25 years of EU in the Philippines” recently in a hotel in Makati City. “It’s a question of a change in funds within the health sector towards the drug issue.”
According to Jessen, they are now working with the Department of Health to see how they can support the best practices currently being implemented by the government to make sure that drug dependents can get the treatment they deserve.