Outgoing Senate President Vicente 'Tito' Sotto III on Tuesday revealed that he will be reviving the Citizens' Drug Watch (CDW), a non-governmental organization formed by the late Senator Ernesto Herrera, with President Rodrigo Duterte being eyed as one of its officials.
Sotto, who also served as the group's vice chairman for years, plans to reactivate CDW sometime in August or September.
"President Duterte himself, iimbitahin ko siya. I plan to see him personally after, pag pareho na kaming ordinary citizens," the lawmaker told reporters, citing the end of Duterte's term on June 30 thus making him an 'ordinary citizen.'
"Mag-uusap ulit kaming mga private citizens na dati naman kaming nag-uusap nung kami ay mga private citizens. Yes, I plan to visit him one of these days, pag hindi na kami nasa pwesto pareho… to be a member of the board. If he wants to be honorary chairman, if we can invite him to be honorary chairman, why not, if he agrees?" he added.
Similar to the President's controversial war on drugs campaign, Sotto believes that CDW would complement the government's program as it would focus more on the prosecution aspect.
The CDW also extends help to those who are either involved in illegal drugs use, or those who are wrongly linked to the trade.
"It will be complementary, complementary with an 'e', di ba? Kasi ano yun eh, ang Citizen’s Drug Watch is heavy on prosecution, prevention, and rehabilitation. But Citizen’s Drug Watch is involved in the issue of prosecution," Sotto explained.
"Ang ginagawa kasi namin nung araw, bawat may kaso ng drugs sa korte, binabantayan namin, kaya drug watch. Binabantayan naming yan, uma-attend kami sa hearing, o aattend kami sa mga trial ng mga drug trafficker. Meron kasing maaaring yung tinatawag na sabit lang, pero meron din namang mga drug lord tapos possession lang ang kaso. Yung mga ganyan," he added.
Sotto was also chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) during the Arroyo administration.
