The Philippine National Police may be back in the anti-illegal drugs campaign in support of the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), but not all of its personnel are allowed to carry out operations.
PNP Spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos clarified on Wednesday that only the Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) based in Camp Crame and select drug-enforcement units from the regional and provincial police offices are authorized to conduct anti-illegal-drugs operations.
“Those who were tasked to conduct outright police operations are PNP-Drug Enforcement Group and select drug-enforcement teams or units in the police stations, regional offices and provincial offices,” Carlos said. “These are the only (units) allowed to conduct anti-drug operation,” he added.
President Duterte has brought back the PNP into the government’s campaign on Tuesday, after noting the resurgence of illegal-drugs cases, although he spelled out that PDEA remains as the lead agency in the anti-drugs campaign.
Carlos said that since the start of the campaign, the PNP has been working in support of the PDEA and operated with prior coordination with the agency.
“We will be multipliers of the PDEA…we will be on active support of the PDEA. Ever since, the set up was like that—we focused on street-level antidrug operation because we have the personnel down to municipal and city levels,” he said.
Duterte took away the PNP from the anti-illegal-drugs campaign in October following criticisms of alleged extrajudicial killings by policemen of drug suspects.
The PDEA welcomed the return of the PNP into the antidrug operations as ordered by the President.
“The PDEA welcomes the decision of the President. It has been the desire of the PDEA that PNP will return in the fight against illegal drugs,” PDEA Director Aaron Aquino said.
The PDEA admitted that it is undermanned, under-budget and underequipped, and there is a need for other law-enforcement agencies, particularly the PNP, in the fight against illegal drugs.
The PDEA has conducted a total of 2,161 antidrug operations from October 11 to December 4, which resulted in the arrest of 750 drug personalities and seizure of P104.10 million worth of illegal drugs.