PDEA, Cebu province talk on drug war budget

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) is working closely with the Cebu provincial government on its anti-drug campaign.

This after Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) head Ivy Durano Meca expressed plans to rechannel Capitol’s budget intended for the provincial police to PDEA-7 following the suspension of police involvement in the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

PDEA-7 director Yogi Ruiz said that they are communicating with Governor Hilario Davide III and Meca regarding the budget for their anti-drug operations.

“Wala pa mi mo-go into details but we welcome in the future if naay matabang ang CPADAO sa atong kampanya kay we have to accept nga kinahanglan gyud ta og tabang,” he said.

(We did not go into the details but we welcome if there’s help from CPADAO in our campaign because we need help.)

“Amoa sa PDEA, wa man ta nangayo og budget. Wa man na giingon nga kon wa tay budget, dili ta kalihok. Part na sa among mandate nga motrabaho gyud me bisan way budget,” Ruiz added.

(In PDEA, we do not ask for a budget. It does not mean that our operations will be paralyzed if we have no budget. It’s part of our mandate to work and not rely on the budget.)

In an earlier interview, Meca said PDEA may design its own anti-drug program, of which funding would be taken from CPADAO.

At present, Ruiz said they are focusing on going after high-value drug personalities based on the information that his office was able to gather. /Correspondent Izobelle T. Pulgo