AFP to focus on ‘street sellers’

Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) shows the illegal drugs and handheld radios confiscated during a recent drug raid in Cebu.

Justice Secretary orders halt to NBI drug operations, NBI-7 chief mum on decision

Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) will go after the the “high-value targets” while members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (AFP-Centcom) will operate against the street-level drug peddlers in the region.

This developed after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the exclusion of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation in the country’s anti-illegal drug war.

PDEA-7 Director Yogi Felimon Ruiz said that this was what they at PDEA intended to implement.

“If those involved in illegal drugs are happy that the police and NBI will no longer conduct anti-drugs operation, they are wrong,” said Ruiz, who was in Manila yesterday to attend a command conference with PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña.

“PDEA is here. And here’s a piece of advice: Don’t attempt to engage us in a shootout and you will regret doing so,” he said.

But Lt. Col. Medel Aguilar, Centcom assistant chief of the Unified Command staff for Civil Military Operations, said that they had yet to receive the order to help PDEA on the war on drugs.

Aguilar said that they had no guidelines yet on whether they would be tasked to handle the street drug peddlers, but he assured that they would be willing to help.

He also said that it would not only be their Task Force Cebu that would handle the anti-drug operations, but it would involve the entire AFP Centcom.

“The Army, Navy and Air Force ang mo-implement if naa na ang instructions (The Army, Navy and the Air Force will be the ones to implement the anti-drug operations if the instructions are given),” said Aguilar.

He also said that in the past few days, there had been meetings with representatives from Centcom and PDEA-7 — a sharing of information about the drug situation in the region.

“Tinitingnan naman namin saan kami papasok (We will see on where we can participate in the war against drugs),” Aguilar said.

He also assured that aside from the sharing of information, Centcom would be willing to provide support for PDEA if the would need it.

He also said that they had been helping other law enforcement agencies on the war against drugs.

“Kami naman sa totoo lang (For us,) we are always helping one another. If we have information to share. We share it. And if the (PNP, PDEA-7 will) need our help, kasi nga organized ang grupo (because we are an organized group), we provide personnel,” Aguilar said.

With the PDEA taking the lead in the war against illegal drugs, Ruiz said they would do their best to live up to the challenge despite the lack of manpower.

“I will not deny that the pressure is there, but that does not mean we will slow down in our campaign against illegal drugs. We will face the challenges head on,”he told Cebu Daily News over the phone yesterday.

“We want to repay the President for the trust he gives to PDEA. We will intensify our efforts three or even four times more,” said Ruiz on their promise to double their efforts in their war on drugs.

Meanwhile, NBI in Central Visayas (NBI-7) chief refused to issue any statement regarding the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to exclude them together with the PNP in the anti-drug war.

“I knew you were going to ask me about it, but our chief of staff in Manila instructed me not issue any statement for now. I have to restrain myself. We don’t have an official statement yet, so we will be quiet for the time being,” NBI-7 Director Patricio Bernales said yesterday.

Bernales, however, stressed that they will follow any orders from the President.

“Of course, we will abide by what he (Duterte) says. He is the President after all,” he said.

President Duterte on Thursday barred the NBI from conducting anti-illegal drugs operations, saying that he had lost his trust in the bureau.

Yesterday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre issued a memo ordering the indefinite suspension of the authority of the NBI to handle cases related to violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Aguirre’s order was in compliance with President Duterte’s pronouncement that the NBI, like the PNP should also suspend its anti-drug operations.

“The DOJ (Department of Justice) and the NBI will now focus its energy and resources in waging war against corruption and in waging war against criminality,” Secretary Aguirre added.

The President’s pronouncement and the Justice Secretary’s order came after the involvement of some of the PNP and NBI members in the abduction and death of South Korean national Jee Ick-joo.

Several police officers, Supt. Rafael Dumlao, SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, SPO4 Roy Villegas have been tagged in Jee’s death. Sta. Isabel and Villegas, along with Yalung, have already been charged in court.

On the other hand, Jerry Omlang, an errand boy from the NBI, admitted his involvement to Jee’s abduction. Aside from Omlang, also tagged in Jee’s abduction was a certain “Lising.”

NBI Director Dante Gierran already relieved several NBI officers including head agent under its NCR Division Darwin Lising. /With Inquirer report