The Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) signed a memorandum circular on Friday (July 9) for the unified operational guidelines on anti-drug operations.
The new pact will prevent other “incidents of miscoordination and other related lapses in judgment” in future operations of the agencies.
The signing was held at the PNP Multi-Purpose Center in Camp Crame and was attended by PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar and PDEA Director-General Wilkins Villanueva.
“Ang naging basehan natin is one station, one operation. Hindi pwede magsabay-sabay, lalo na with other agencies,” Eleazar said.
Also included in the guidelines are plans in case an operation target changes location, to prevent misencounter. Operatives who will violate the guidelines will be sanctioned.
The guidelines were agreed upon following the shootout between PDEA and PNP agents that killed five operatives in Quezon City last February. Operatives of both agencies almost figured in a similar incident last May.
Meanwhile, PDEA expressed optimism that the government can overcome the country’s prevailing drug problem.
“Ang pagbaba ng influenced barangay, ang equivalent kasi nito is [reduction] also of commission of crime… So nasaan na tayo? Malapit na tayo,” Villanueva said.
PDEA data show that there are 21,891 drug-cleared barangays between July 1, 2016 to April 30, 2021. There are still 13,400 barangays that have yet to be freed from illegal drug influence.
This is in line with the government’s move to improve peace and order in the country. Global Finance magazine recently reported that the Philippines ranked last in a list of world’s safest countries.
The PNP said they consider this a challenge, but said the report’s data do not match that of their office.
“For the first five years of this administration versus the first five years of the previous administration, or even the last five years of the previous administration, bumaba ng 63% on the average itong ating mga krimen,” Eleazar said. – Report from Bea Bernardo/AG- jlo
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