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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
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MANILA – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) may not effectively execute its mandate if it is short of manpower and funds, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson lamented on Tuesday that the lead agency in the government’s antidrug campaign is “so undermanned.”
Sought for comment on the capability of the agency to lead the drug crackdown, Lacson said, “They need 1,200 additional personnel.”
President Rodrigo Duterte last week assigned the PDEA as the sole agency authorized to conduct antidrug operations.
Lacson, a former Philippine National Police chief, said the PDEA’s budget must be augmented.
“During the committee hearing, they told me they submitted a budget of more than P2 billion, and only P1.2 billion was approved by the DBM (Department of Budget and Management),” he said. “So ang NEP (National Expenditure Program) nila, nasa more than P1 billion.”
“At the time, they were not yet given the assignment to be the lead agency,” the senator said. “But I saw it fit to augment their budget by P1.2 billion to 1.4 billion more.”
Lacson also learned from the PDEA that it needs 81 offices in all provinces and district offices in the National Capital Region.
In addition, the agency needs more funds for the purchase of vehicles, improvement of facilities, firearms, and recruitment of additional personnel, said Lacson.
The senator stressed that the Philippine National Police remains involved in the antidrug war but “will play a secondary role.”
Until last week, police have been leading operations against drug trafficking through the Oplan Double Barrel since Rodrigo Duterte was elected president.
“The lead role will now be PDEA. But under Republic Act 9165, it’s PDEA who’s playing the lead role,” said Lacson./PN
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