NEGROS Oriental provincial police director Augusto Marquez has expressed optimism that some of his men would soon receive their deputation orders to participate in the country's anti-illegal drugs campaign.

Marquez said the deputation orders are already on the desk of Chief Superintendent Federico Terte, Philippine National Police (PNP)-Central Visayas director.

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He said he requested to expedite the deputation of the policemen in Negros Oriental so they can effectively and legitimately conduct anti-illegal drugs operations.

The non-deputation of police personnel in the anti-illegal drugs drive has hampered efforts to address the problem in Dumaguete City and other parts of the country, he noted.

Marquez pointed out that the law is very strict in the conduct of such operations, especially as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is the only agency that is currently authorized to undertake the same.

This issue has been raised in previous meetings, most recently during the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC)-Central Visayas meeting held in Dumaguete.

The provincial police director said that prior to an anti-illegal drugs operation, a PDEA representative must be informed about it.

However, in some instances, it is difficult to contact a PDEA agent, even though an approval from the said agency through text messaging can be admitted in court, he explained.

The danger is that text messages can be deleted by mistake, Marquez added.

A fax message giving consent to the anti-illegal drugs operation by organic policemen also has some hitches, such as that the document's ink becomes unreadable overtime, he said.

He said the best method at the moment is to get prior approval from the PDEA through e-mail.

He said he is targeting to have at least one police personnel deputized by the PDEA to be assigned in the 25 police stations in the cities and municipalities of Negros Oriental. (PNA)