WHEREAS, Narcotic addiction has increasingly become a major social problem;

WHEHEAS, the social malady threatens to corrupt and degrade the youth and student population, and undermine society and the economy as well;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to formulate and adopt preventive, curative, rehabilitative and developmental measures to repel and contain this social menace before it goes out of control to the detriment of our national interest and public welfare.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby create a special committee on narcotics to be composed of the following:

The Secretary of Justice or his representative	Chairman
The Solicitor General or his representative	Vice Chairman
The Secretary of Health or his representative	Member
The Secretary of Education or his representative	Member
The Secretary of Social Welfare or her representative	Member
The Secretary of Finance or his representative	Member
The Commissioner of the Budget or his representative	Member
The Chief of Constabulary or his representative	Member

The Committee shall have the following functions:

1. To study ways and means of preventing and controlling the spread of narcotics addiction and the rehabilitation and treatment of drug addicts;

2. To coordinate the efforts and activities of different agencies involved in the campaign against this serious Penance, by roughly dividing its work into;

a) Preventive Aspect: - involving education and orientation of the youth and the community as a whole on the evils of narcotics addiction and its effective control;

b) Treatment and Rehabilitation: -involving medical treatment of addicts, shelter aid or residential services and social services and counseling after care;

c) Developmental: - involving vocational training, employment, staff development, evaluation and research.

3. To take charge and custody of all prohibited and dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia seized or confiscated by or surrendered to any national, provincial or local law enforcement agency, if no longer needed for purposes of evidence court; and to order the destruction or condemnation of same;

4. To promote an extensive, scientific, clinical, social, psychological, physical and biological research on prohibited and dangerous drugs;

5. To propose or recommend necessary legislation and measure by which narcotics addiction may be effectively controlled and prevented;

6. To perform such other functions as the President may, from time to time, direct.

The Committee may request any department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the government for such assistance as it may need in the performance of its functions.

Done in the City of Manila, this 8th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.


By the President:

(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
Executive Secretary