March 29, 2024

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency expressed hope the next administration will continue the relentless campaign against illegal drugs.
PDEA Chief Wilkins Villanueva also called on the next president to continue the drug rehabilitation and reformation program spearheaded by the Duterte administration for the benefit of the future generation.
He added PDEA had recent successful operations resulting in billions of seized illegal drugs.
The PDEA chief said the operations stemmed from the joint cooperation of law enforcement agencies under the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) established in 2019.
Villanueva said drug syndicates have reverted to their old ways and opted to transport drugs through unprotected coastal waters, adding that a number of the shipments came from Mexico, Africa, and China.
The PDEA chief admitted that solving the drug problem is difficult to do, but the current campaign brought great improvement to the country’s drug situation.
“Ang kailangan lang natin dito is rehabilitation and reformation. The problem is yung mga LGUs natin ang talagang main player dito. Dapat ayos na ito for the past two-three years pinasok tayo ng Covid-19 so hindi puwede tayo mag-conduct ng rehabilitation dahil meron social distancing. Rehabilitation and reformation program natin particularly sa community level kaya hindi tayo makapag conduct ng community-based drug rehabilitation program because of the Covid-19. – PNA