Success of illegal drug campaign depends on support of nat’l gov’t

TACLOBAN CITY – The success of the campaign against illegal-drug proliferation in the country depends on the support of the national government and the central office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to its regional offices, thus said former Dangerous Drugs Board vice-chair Clarence Paul Oaminal in an interview.

Oaminal stressed that among the problems that the regional offices of PDEA are experiencing is the lack of personnel which PDEA Regional Director Julius Navales agreed in previous interviews.

In the region, PDEA regional office has around 20 personnel that include office personnel and their agents.

Aside from the lack of personnel, the regional office of PDEA is only leasing a building that serves as their office in the region.

Moreover, illegal drug trade is not a problem in the region, according to Oaminal but the region is a beneficiary of illegal drug trade of Region 7, particularly of Cebu province.

The number of ports in the region, particularly those located in the province of Leyte, provides easier access for drug courier from the province of Cebu.

Shabu remains as the in demand illegal substance in the region followed by marijuana based on the record of PDEA.

With the existence of cocaine in the region a few years ago, it did not affect the trend of illegal drug trade, according to Oaminal.

However, Oaminal stressed that the government become laid back in the recovery operation of cocaine bricks that were dump in the sea off the waters of the Eastern Samar.

Of the 1,000 tons of cocaine bricks believed to have been dumped, more than 600 kilos of cocaine bricks were recovered by the law enforcement agency.

The program of the government by giving incentives like cash and sack of rice did not help in the campaign to recover the said illegal drugs.

Providing livelihood, according to Oaminal, is the best way to entice people to surrender the bricks of cocaine that has yet to be recovered by the government.

To recall, just this month of December members of the PDEA through a search warrant issued by court, searched a private car that was parked in the vicinity of the Daniel Z. R omualdez Airport.

Said car was from the town of Oras and believed to be used by some individuals who were looking for cocaine bricks.

However, no illegal-drug substance was recovered inside the car, but some illegal-drug paraphernalia were recovered by law enforcement team.