PDEA agents, found illegal drugs users, dropped from the roster

CEBU, Philippines – At least 50 agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency nationwide have been dropped from the roll after they were found positive of illegal drugs use, according to PDEA-Region 7 Director Jeffrey Bangsa.

Bangsa made this disclosure during the illegal-drug prevention and control summit in Dumaguete City.

He said PDEA has been monitoring reports from the field about confiscated drugs being recycled or resold in the markets and identify those from the agency who may be engaged in this anomaly.

“If PDEA and other law enforcement agencies find difficulty in getting evidences against syndicates without law enforcement training, how much more if the culprits are law enforcement officers themselves,” said Bangsa.

If there are strong indications and suspicions that certain PDEA agents are in cahoots with target personalities on illegal drugs, their transfer and isolation is eminent, to cut their connections, he said.

Bangsa sought the help of barangay officials and residents to monitor the presence of drug dens, which has been termed by drug personalities as “garlugs,” adding that anything of this sort should be reported to the authorities for immediate action.

Bangsa also admitted that PDEA has only 1,895 personnel all over the country, 892 of whom are drug enforcement officers. Thirty-three of them are in Central Visayas, 279 are technical staff including lawyers, while 733 are administrative staff.

The PDEA-7 official also confirmed the presence of the Muntinlupa connection involving members of drug syndicates who are now serving jail terms, but continuously managing drug operations with new convicts from the provinces. He however clarified that the source of drugs is not from the Bilibid Prisons itself but from the outside.