PDEA: Smuggling plays role in drug war
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-7 chief agrees with the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte that it is difficult to stop illegal drugs in the country.
“I can say nga maglisud ta, in a sense, tungod kay ang smuggling man gud diri sa droga dili man gud nga karon ra nahitabo… sa una pa ni sya, and we have the second longest coastline in the world,” said PDEA-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz.
He also said weak security protocols in ports is one reason why “bulk smuggling” of illegal drugs prevails.
Central Visayas, for one, is a viable target because it has “a shipping industry that is able to cater to almost all ports in the Philippines,” he said.
“We have to take into consideration: Cebu is the center of activity in the Visayas. We have a shipping industry that is able to cater to almost all ports in the Philippines… there is no other port in the Philippines that can match the accessibility of our ports in Cebu,” he told The FREEMAN yesterday.
“If I were the drug syndicate, all I need is to hurdle (the part that is) coming in,” he added.
Ruiz said it can be frustrating that law enforcement agencies like PDEA fight tooth and nail in the streets and illegal drugs can slip through port security easily.
“We are risking our lives in the streets, taking drugs off the streets… these drug syndicates, they fight us off, they really fight us off… here comes this bulk smuggling – hundreds of kilos coming in,” he said.
He said syndicates prefer bulk smuggling these days because “in-country” manufacturing through laboratories like in the past is easy to detect. Setting up a laboratory is also more tedious because a syndicate would need to import equipment, chemicals, and chemists.
There are reportedly two types of bulk smuggling – smuggling of finished product and smuggling of liquid shabu or drugs, the latter having to undergo one more process locally to become a finished product.
Bulk smuggling, Ruiz said, is a “less risk, high reward” option.
Last Friday, Duterte said in a speech in Davao City that illegal drugs are “uncontrollable.”
Ruiz, however, said they take the president's statement as a challenge.
“We take it as a challenge. We wanted to prove ngadto sa presidente, among ipakita nga makaya namo sa PDEA kay kami we like the challenge and we will take this as a challenge and once mapakita nato, we can be proud sa katawhan nga mahimo nato,” Ruiz added.
At the Capitol, Governor Hilario Davide III also said he hopes Duterte's words will not demoralize law enforcement agents.
“I hope dili maka-affect. I think out of exasperation man tingali to,” he said.
The governor does not believe that the president's will to fight illegal drugs is faltering since the war on drugs is always included in his speech whenever Duterte has the chance to talk in public. Davide believes the President is just being “truthful”.
“Lisud baya gyud when you realize nga dako kaayo ang problema,” Davide said.
He said Duterte must sustain the fight as results are starting to be seen.
“We've been seeing results. Dapat i-sustain na kay nasugdan na man gud na. I never said that we will be able to eliminate the drug problem. At least, ma-reduce lang,” he said.