ILOILO City – The easing of coronavirus pandemic restrictions have prompted the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region 6 to intensify its operation against drug trafficking.
The agency is expecting a surge in illegal drug activities.
PDEA-6 spokesperson Shey Tanaleon said they are now using drug-detecting sniffing dogs in operations in all provinces.
“Wala kita naga-untat inspection and operation especially against high-value targets,” Tanaleon said.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) undersecretary Epimaco Densing recently warned of a higher demand for illegal drugs as an effect of the relaxation of pandemic mobility restrictions.
“But as long as the government remains aggressive and resilient in the anti-illegal drug program – while we may not be able to bring down illegal drugs a hundred percent – at least we would be able to minimize them,” said Densing.
Negros Occidental and Antique remain under coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Alert Level 2 until the end of May.
Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Aklan, Bacolod City, Guimaras, and Capiz retain their COVID-19 Alert Level 1 statuses up to May 31./PN
