The Coalition for People’s Right to Health firmly rejects Senator Cayetano’s recent characterization of the war on drugs as a “pro-life campaign.” This framing is not only dangerously misleading but also ignores the catastrophic human cost of decades of punitive enforcement. Labeling a campaign defined by extrajudicial killings, mass incarceration, and systemic stigma as a moral imperative obscures the reality that these policies have failed to protect life and have instead destroyed families, communities, and the nation as a whole.

Health is not determined in a vacuum. Socio-economic and cultural inequities act as powerful engines that shape the environments where people produce, distribute, or use substances. Poverty, lack of opportunity, and systemic cultural stigma create conditions where substance use becomes a survival mechanism or a coping response to marginalization. These deep-seated disparities push vulnerable communities to the fringes, where they face compounded barriers to care and justice. The current punitive approach ignores these root causes, blaming individuals for circumstances created by structural failure. We urgently need an alternative strategy grounded in evidence, public health principles, and human rights that addresses these inequities rather than relying on fear and force.

Those most impacted by punitive drug policy enforcement often face intersecting layers of discrimination. True equality requires more than just equal treatment under the law, it demands the dismantling of the systems of oppression that make certain groups disproportionately vulnerable. The drug war itself has been a primary engine of this oppression, perpetuating cycles of poverty and exclusion rather than solving them. Substantive equality means empowering those most marginalized to thrive, not punishing them for their circumstances.

Despite being sold as a necessary measure for public order or a “pro-life” effort, the widespread use of criminal law has failed to deter drug use or prevent related harms. The evidence is overwhelming: punishment does not cure addiction, and fear does not build healthy communities. In a 2024 report by Amnesty International Philippines: Coercion and abuse disguised as “rehabilitation” at drug detention centres documented “how people who use drugs are being sent to government-run facilities where they are forced to go through programs that are not evidence-based. People in ‘rehabilitation’ are punished for using drugs and coerced into abstinence, forced to undergo mandatory drug testing in violation of their right to privacy, and subjected to severe punishments for rule violations, including weeks or months in isolation.”
CPRH calls for genuine drug rehabilitation programs that holistically address the biopsychosocial components of addiction, which not only include rehabilitation facilities and institutions, but also community reintegration programs for re-entry of patients back into society. Only by abolishing all forms of oppression that undermine human dignity can we build a society where the right to health is a reality for everyone, not a privilege for the few.

Ultimately, no amount of justification or deception can rewrite the narrative of these human rights violations. The only path forward demands a fundamental commitment to strengthening the public health system. We must uphold a free, comprehensive, and progressive national healthcare framework. This vision is the only true route toward abolishing the oppression in all its forms that undermines human dignity and violates our most basic rights.##