President Arroyo yesterday ordered a massive crackdown on all drug enclaves in Metro Manila as well as the imposition of harsher punishment for government officials or law enforcers involved in the illegal drug trade. The President issued the directive a day after police narcotics agents raided a "shabu" bazaar in a shanty neighborhood in Pasig City and rounded up as many as 300 suspects. "I order the police to clean up all drug enclaves in the metropolis, whether they are in the slums or the affluent neighborhoods. These are nests of ruin and criminality that should never be allowed to fester," she said in a statement. [continues 314 words]
To achieve a drug-free Philippines by 2010, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday directed the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOT Force) to "tighten the noose on drug syndicates and make sure they are unwelcome in the country. The President told the anti-drug task force under the Philippine National Police (PNP) to follow up its accomplishments in the past year during its first anniversary celebration in Malacanang. The task force received praises from the President for the neutralization o f 239 local drug groups, arrest of more than 30,000 drug offenders, confiscation of more than R22 billion worth of "shabu, and raids on 22 clandestine drug laboratories since its creation last year. [continues 486 words]
President Arroyo rallied Metro Manila barangay officials yesterday to assist the government's efforts to eliminate syndicated and street-level illegal drug operations in their communities. The President mobilized more than 17,000 officials and members of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADAC) in Metro Manila in the intensified "barangay clearing operations," the second phase of her government's all-out war against illicit drugs. Arroyo vowed that there will be no sacred cows in the renewed campaign against drugs as she directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to unmask and arrest big-time drug lords and their patrons in government. [continues 1333 words]
President Arroyo yesterday said she will weed out rogue lawmen who resell confiscated drugs and cash in on arrested drug lords and vowed to reform the government's drive against illicit drugs after she found out that groups tasked to eliminate the drug problem are engaged in illegal activities. "We have carefully studied and reviewed the performance of various drug enforcement units. It has turned out that anti-narcotics units of stations, district offices, and other PNP (Philippine National Police) units are tainted," she said in a statement. [continues 1531 words]
The government is targeting 11 transnational and 215 local drug syndicates operating in the country in line with its intensified anti-drugs crackdown, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced yesterday. The President said the drug rings have been listed in the "order of battle" of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) following its two-day intelligence workshop in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Of the 215 local drug groups, 116 have operations in Luzon, 48 in the Visayas, and 51 in Mindanao. Mrs. Arroyo, who attended the last day of the workshop, directed PDEA Director General Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido Jr to assign specific units to neutralize each target. [continues 238 words]
After the government has significantly neutralized kidnaping threats, President Macapagal Arroyo is shifting her anticrime drive to drug syndicates operating in the country. Aiming for a drug-free Philippines by 2005, the President yesterday launched a "sustained and high-intensity campaign" to eliminate the illegal drug trade and manufacturing in the country. In a meeting at Malacanang, Ms. Macapagal directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to coordinate with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in releasing the order of battle against all drug syndicates by Saturday. [continues 398 words]
