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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO – In making the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) the sole law enforcement body that could conduct anti-illegal drug operations, President Rodrigo Duterte was not just trying to “bring order to the operation…thus pinpointing precise accountability.”
According to Iloilo governor Arthur Defensor Sr., the President was trying to make a point – if PDEA would be proven ineffective in the antidrug campaign, the job would certainly return to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“He wanted to give the public the opportunity to see for themselves how PDEA fares in the drive against drug trafficking,” said Defensor.
If the situation worsens under PDEA’s watch, he would like to let the public realize that the PNP was crucial in the campaign.
Defensor declined to speculate if PDEA alone could curb drug trafficking but said he learned that the agency did not have enough manpower to carry out the task.
A “big challenge” was how the director of PDEA in Region 6 described their job.
For one, they do not have enough personnel, according to Director Wardley Getalla.
But he tried to be upbeat. “Despite our limited number of personnel marami pa tayong magagawa para mabigyan ng magandang laban ang droga,” he said.
Getalla, however, declined to say how many agents his office currently has.
On Wednesday, Duterte directed the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and all other agencies or ad hoc anti-drug task forces to stop conducting anti-illegal drug operations.
In a memorandum signed by the President, PDEA would henceforth be the sole agency that can conduct anti-illegal drug operations pursuant to Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Duterte issued the directive “in order to bring order to the operation/campaign against illegal drugs, thus pinpointing precise accountability.”
The memorandum directed the NBI, PNP, AFP, BOC, Philippine Postal Office and all other agencies as well as all ad hoc anti-drug task forces to “relay, deliver and bring” to the attention of PDEA all information they received for appropriate action.
“The PNP shall, at all times, maintain police visibility, as a deterrent to illegal drug activities leaving to the PDEA however the conduct of anti-illegal drug operations as aforestated,” the memo said.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) assured PDEA of support.
“We will still help PDEA with whatever information they want. Hindi tayo hihinto sa pagsugpo ng illegal drugs,” said Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Western Visayas police director.
With antidrug operations off their shoulders, the police could now concentrate on the campaign against crimes and wanted persons, said Binag.
Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Charlie Sustento, police chief of Ajuy, Iloilo and head of the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit of the Iloilo Provincial Police Office, said the presidential memo saddened them.
They have pending antidrug operations, he explained, and their past operations were successful and effective.
But Sustento assured PDEA of the police’s support.
“We will help PDEA. We will work hand in hand though ang amon function is intelligence gathering. Whatever information nga magaabot sa amon, we will share it with PDEA,” said Sustento.
Under Article IX, Section 84 of RA 9165, PDEA is mandated, among others, to:
(a) Implement or cause the efficient and effective implementation of the national drug control strategy formulated by the Board (Dangerous Drugs Board) thereby carrying out a national drug campaign program which shall include drug law enforcement, control and prevention campaign with the assistance of concerned government agencies;
(b) Undertake the enforcement of the provisions of Article II of this Act relative to the unlawful acts and penalties involving any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical and investigate all violators and other matters involved in the commission of any crime relative to the use, abuse or trafficking of any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical as provided for in this Act and the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1619;
(c) Arrest and apprehend as well as search all violators and seize or confiscate, the effects or proceeds of the crimes as provided by law and take custody thereof, for this purpose the prosecutors and enforcement agents are authorized to possess firearms, in accordance with existing laws;
(d) Monitor and if warranted by circumstances, in coordination with the Philippine Postal Office and the Bureau of Customs, inspect all air cargo packages, parcels and mails in the central post office, which appear from the package and address itself to be a possible importation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals, through on-line or cyber shops via the internet or cyberspace.
RA 1965 further states that: “Nothing in this Act shall mean a diminution of the investigative powers of the NBI and the PNP on all other crimes as provided for in their respective organic laws.”
Duterte’s directive was issued following allegations of human rights abuses committed by the PNP in the war against illegal drugs.
This was also be the second time that the President ordered the PNP to stop all anti-drug operations nationwide.
On Jan. 30, 2017, Duterte instructed the PNP to dismantle all its anti-illegal drug units and “cleanse its ranks” of corrupt personnel following the kidnap and murder of a South Korean businessman inside Camp Crame.
On Feb. 27, the President allowed the PNP a limited participation in the anti-drug campaign through smaller task forces.
On March 6, the PNP officially relaunched its campaign against drugs dubbed Oplan Double Barrel Alpha Reloaded. (With a report from the Philippine National Police/PN)
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