Winning drug war leads to happiness – PDEA

Winning the war on illegal drugs would improve the well-being and happiness of people.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Isidro Lapeña made the statement as he explained the necessity to rid the country of the drug problem.

“Filipinos richly deserve a good, fulfilling and worthwhile life without illegal drugs, criminality and corruption – the three societal menaces the administration… vowed to get rid of,” Lapeña said in a statement.

PDEA and The Way to Happiness (TWTH) Philippines Foundation Inc. said illegal drugs only bring problems and not happiness to users.

The Philippines ranked 72nd out of 155 countries in the World Happiness Report for 2017, according to data released yesterday by Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations.

Last year, the country was No. 82 on the list.

The Philippines scored high in the social support area measure of the Happiness Index (1.254), followed by gross domestic product per capita (0.858), freedom to make life choices (0.585), health life expectancy (0.468), generosity (0.194) and perceptions of corruption (0.099).

“Winning the war against drugs can be ensured only through a two-fisted approach – an iron fist enforcement of the law to cut the supply and ethics education to cut the demand,” said TWTH Philippines chairman Jerry Perez de Tagle.