Sunday, March 02, 2008 PDEA meets to stop bungling drug cases
LIAISON officers of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and case monitors of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and the Cordillera regions attended a two-day reorientation seminar-workshop in Baguio.
According to Joker Cuanso, PDEA regional director in the Cordillera, the seminar-workshop was aimed at bringing about more drug case convictions, and the successful filing of appropriate charges against erring witnesses and others who cause the bungling of these cases.
The two-day activity, which was participated in by about 25 delegates from all over northern and central Luzon, aims to mentally and psychologically stimulate participants to serve better by educating them more on their tasks and responsibilities, and resolving concerns and proposed solutions.
He said the undertaking was organized by the Legal and Prosecution Service (LPS) of the PDEA national office in Quezon City, in coordination with PDEA Regional Office. The LPS staff led by their director, lawyer Alvaro Lazaro, a former drug court prosecutor, facilitated it.
"These drug case monitors, who are now deployed to various Regional Trial Courts (RTC) nationwide to personally monitor the status and progress of drug cases, were hired as project employees through Project Court Watch under the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission on July 1 last year," Cuanso said.
Although the job order for drug case monitors will end in 2009, he said the agency is pushing for the conversion of this monitoring job into a regular position in the PDEA since it (PDEA) recognizes the valuable contributions of these employees to the country's drug control strategy.
