“[The former president of] Colombia has been lecturing about my [war on drugs]…that idiot,” Duterte said, without mentioning Gaviria by his name. In his opinion piece, Gaviria told Duterte that the drug menace cannot be solved by the “heavy-handed approach of killing drug addicts.”He said he was hoping Duterte would not commit the same mistakes that he did in dealing with Colombia’s drug problem. The former South American leader said Duterte should instead strengthen public health programs, safeguard human rights and focus on economic development. “In addition, Philhealth, the government’s national health insurance program, now covers a two-week drug rehabilitation program reserved at P10,000 per member. It is unfortunate that international attention to the drug war in the Philippines centers on drug-related killings rather than the breakthroughs of the campaign,” Abella said.

Source: Manila Times February 08, 2017 16:07 UTC