DDB wants phones of suspected drug lords tapped

The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) wants the law on wiretapping amended to allow law enforcers to eavesdrop on the phone conversations of suspected big-time drug lords.

DDB Executive Director Jose Calida said yesterday wiretapping or electronic surveillance is a tested technique used by law enforcement agencies against drug traffickers in many countries, including the United States.

Certain exemptions to Republic Act 4200, also known as the Anti-wiretapping Act, will empower law enforcers more in going after the so-called "big fish," he said.

This proposal, however, may encounter resistance from various sectors and some lawmakers who have noted there should be more than enough safeguards in the law against latest technological innovations to invade one’s privacy.

The Anti-Wiretapping Act penalizes any person who listens in on conversations by electronic means without the consent or knowledge of the parties.

"We want an amendment to the wiretapping act. We want to catch the big fishes, the masterminds, the financiers and coddlers," Calida told the weekly "Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel" forum in Quezon City.

"These people do not go to the drug laboratories, they do not sell shabu in the streets. They operate by cell phones and electronic means. We want to catch them in the act of giving instructions to their henchmen. We want to tap into their conversation. This is now being done in modern countries like the United States," he pointed out.

Calida expressed confidence that many well-financed drug syndicates will be busted if local anti-drug authorities are empowered by the courts to engage in electronic surveillance against drug traffickers.

"We expect much from our law enforcers but they are not that empowered. We are fighting a battle with one hand tied behind our back," he said.

In addition to the proposed amendment to the Anti-Wiretapping Act, the DDB is also proposing an amendment to the anti-drug trafficking law to make owners of warehouses and other similar establishments criminally liable if proven that they did not exercise diligence in scrutinizing their tenants.

Calida told reporters that many owners of warehouses that were converted into clandestine laboratories for the manufacture of shabu managed to elude prosecution by simply claiming that they were unaware of their tenants’ activities.

"If it would be found out that the warehouse is used for illegal purposes, like clandestine laboratory, the landlord should be penalized if it will be shown that he did not show the diligence required of him by law. We would like them (owners) to use their visitorial powers as landlords. Hopefully, this will be a factor to deter drug traffickers and manufacturers," Calida said.

Last week, anti-illegal drug operatives busted a large shabu laboratory in Valenzuela City

According to the DDB, illegal drug trafficking in the country has ballooned into a P250-billion a year industry with shabu still the top choice of illegal drug users. A kilo of shabu can fetch as much as P2 million on the streets, the DDB said.

Based on a report by the United Nations, Calida noted the Philippines ranks third behind China and Myanmar as the major sources of illegal drugs.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, shabu manufactured in the Philippines reaches as far as Australia and the United States.

Following the UN report, President Arroyo vowed no let-up in her administration’s war against illegal drugs.

"We have pushed the drug menace far back but we take the UN report as a reminder that there is more to be done," the President said.