RTC judge notes PDEA in anti-drug drive not feasible

CEBU, Philippines — Leaving the anti-drugs campaign to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration (PDEA) was not a good idea because the job requires a lot of resources, personnel and intelligence operatives, which the agency is lacking of, according to Judge Rosendo Bandal Jr. of the Regional Trial Court-branch 34.

With only nine personnel of the PDEA in the province, four of whom are office staffs, Bandal said it will embolden drug personalities to ply their trade elsewhere, unless they are caught en flagrante delicto by police personnel.

Bandal said the drug problem has been a menace to the society, and as a mother of all crimes, drug addiction will lead to other crimes including rape, robbery, hold up and even riding in tandem activities.

In a related development, PDEA-Dumaguete investigation agent Jason Cabataña admitted that "a huge vacuum is happening in Negros Oriental."

Cabataña said that, aside from lack of personnel, PDEA-Dumaguete is also ill-equipped with lack of vehicles, and does not even have a photo copying machine  which is badly needed in the preparation of complaints.

Several RTCs in Negros Oriental have noticed that they have not received yet drugs cases being filed, since the time PDEA took over the helm of the anti-drug campaign. (FREEMAN)