The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency yesterday called on some policemen not deputized by PDEA to refrain from conducting unauthorized anti-drug operations, as doing so may lead to the dismissal of the drug cases they will file in court.

Supt. Rolen Balquin, PDEA regional director, said all anti-drug operations must be coursed through the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force in city or provincial police offices, as well as the PDEA.

Balquin made the clarification because of reported unauthorized anti-drug operations by some policemen in Western Visayas.

As stipulated in Section 86 of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Drug Act of 2002, only operatives of the PDEA and its deputized agents may conduct anti-drug operations, and file cases in court.

Balquin said drug cases filed based on unauthorized anti-drug operations will only result in the automatic dismissal of the complaint.

Balquin said the Negros Occidental and Bacolod City police offices each have one team of deputized anti-narcotics agents.

The PDEA is now intensifying its campaign against about 336 drug personalities in the Western Visayas, 123 of them operating in Negros Occidental.

PDEA records show that the 86 drug personalities in Negros Occidental, included in their watch list, are defying their anti-drug campaign, while 37 others are operating in Bacolod City.

Records also showed that 55 drug personalities in the region were neutralized in 2006 with their arrest, with Capiz topping the list of apprehended drug pushers with 18, followed by Aklan with 12, Negros Occidental -11, Iloilo -7, Bacolod and Iloilo cities - 3 each, and Antique -1.*GPB

back to top