More minors arrested for drugs in 2014

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty percent more minors were arrested for drugs in 2014 compared to the previous year, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said yesterday.

The number of minors arrested for possessing, selling or transporting illegal drugs increased to 179 in 2014 from 148 in 2013, according to the agency’s consolidated report.

Forty percent or 72 of the 179 arrested minors were aged 17 and 83 percent or 148 of them were male.

PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac Jr. said drug suspects in the country are getting younger – drug syndicates continue to take advantage of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which exempts minors from criminal liability. 

The arrested minors were endorsed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development offices nationwide, he said. 

The youngest drug suspect, a six-year-old, was arrested in 2003, Cacdac said.