REPUBLIC ACT 6425, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT

OF 1972”
▪ The Dangerous Drugs Board was created to be the policy-making and coordinating agency
when it comes to all drug abuse-related matters (i.e., law enforcement, treatment and
rehabilitation, prevention, training and information, and research and statistics.
▪ DDB was composed only of 7 national government agencies as members (i.e., Department
of Health, Department of Education, Culture and Sports, Department of Justice,
Department of National Defense, Department of Finance, and National Bureau of
Investigation)
▪ RA 6425 was established as a response to the Dangerous Drugs Board’s campaign against
drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the Philippines
▪ PUNISHMENT: Deals with the issue of illegal drugs and provides mainly for the
punishment of offenses related to illegal drugs (i.e., use, sale, distribution, and manufacture
of said drugs)
▪ When the law was approved, the problem concerning drugs was merely at its initial stage
▪ There were only 20,000 or so drug users, and marijuana was the top choice among said
users (Dangerous Drugs Board, 1972)
REPUBLIC ACT 9165, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “COMPREHENSIVE
DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002”
▪ The Dangerous Drugs Board is now mandated to not just develop but also adopt
comprehensive, integrated, unified, and balanced national drug abuse prevention and
control strategy
▪ DDB now composed of 17 from the office members serving either as heads or as secretaries
of other government agencies in the Philippines
▪ RA 9165 repealed RA 6425 for the purpose of giving more teeth to the law and responding
to new and emerging challenges against drugs
▪ PREVENTION & CONTROL: Principally aims to prevent and control the use, sale,
distribution, and manufacture of illegal drugs
▪ More recent and comprehensive law that expands on the provisions of RA 6425 and
provides for stricter penalties for illicit drug-related offenses
▪ By virtue of this law, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency was created for the efficient
and effective law enforcement of all the provisions on dangerous drugs
▪ PDEA is tasked in taking charge in the custody, proper disposition, and destruction of all
seized/surrendered dangerous drugs, their plant sources, controlled precursors, and
essential chemicals, instruments/paraphernalia, or laboratory equipment, and their
representative samples if no longer needed for purposes of evidence in court
▪ When the law was approved, the problem concerning drugs was then full-blown
▪ Philippines now with 6.7 million or so drug users (United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime World Drug Report, 2002)
 RA 6425 SIMILARITIES RA 9165

Established Philippine Drug

Established Dangerous Drugs Both laws established for anti-
Enforcement Agency, an
Board under the Office of the illegal drugs campaign of the
implementing arm of the
President Philippine Government
Dangerous Drugs Board
The Supreme Court shall
The Criminal Circuit Court Both laws subjected to death designate a Special Courts
shall have the exclusive penalty until 2006, the year of among existing Regional Trial
original jurisdiction over the the abolishment of death Courts for the jurisdiction
cases relevant to this law penalty over the cases relevant to this
law

Preliminary drug case Preliminary drug case

investigations shall be investigations shall be
resolved up to 7 days only terminated up to 30 days

Budgets and funds acquired Budgets and funds acquired

by virtue of this law’s by virtue of this law’s
implementation shall be implementation shall be
submitted to the President and submitted to the President and
reported to the Senate and audited by the Commission on
House of Representatives Audit
Supports only the accredited Encourages the creation of
private rehab centers to be adequate rehab centers to be
used by drug-related persons, used by drug-related persons,
as funded by the Philippine still as funded by the
Amusement and Gaming Philippine Amusement and
Corporation Gaming Corporation
Established the PDEA
Academy responsible for the
recruitment and training of
aspiring PDEA Agents