New PDEA 7 director promises to go after agency’s ‘big fishes’
Yogi Filemon Ruiz, who replaced Ronald Allan DG Ricardo, says he is willing to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies in going after drug personalities
THE new director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 promises to go after the 10 most wanted personalities in the agency’s list.
Yogi Filemon Ruiz replaced Ronald Allan DG Ricardo yesterday.
“We hope they won’t fight back because we’re just doing our job. I want Cebu to be drug-free because I am from Cebu. I don’t want my children living in a place where illegal drugs proliferate,” he told reporters in Cebuano.
Ruiz said he has the names of the drug personalities.
“I assure I’ll look for them one after the other,” he said.
Ruiz’s last assignment was PDEA 4A (Calabarzon). Before that, he was assigned in Region 5 (Bicol).
Ruiz said he is willing to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies in going after the drug personalities.
If they get any information on Cebuano businessman Peter Lim, who was accused by President Rodrigo Duterte as a drug lord, they will pass it on to the National Bureau of Investigation 7, he said.
Warning
Ruiz warned PDEA 7 agents not to engage in the illegal drug trade, promising to investigate any personnel accused of protecting drug pushers.
“I will have them relieved. They need people in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. They also need people in Region 1. We’ll transfer them there,” he said in Cebuano.
Meanwhile, Police Regional Office 7 Director Noli Taliño said the 25 new personnel of Regional Special Operations Group (Rsog) will be trained by the Special Weapons and Tactics.
The police official said the training will prepare operatives for future opera- tions against illegal drug personalities and other criminals.
Former members of Rsog and the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (Raidsotg) were relieved by Taliño two weeks ago. Most of them were found to be overstaying.
Taliño said he already merged Rsog and Raidsotg into a single unit.