Thursday, September 13, 2007
CCPO to form task force v. drugs
AS the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) revived its intensified campaign against illegal drugs, Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador plans to create a city anti-illegal drug special operations task force (CAIDSOTF).
Comendador said the CCPO suffers from a vacuum in its anti-illegal drug operations after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), in its July 4 memorandum order, pulled out the involvement of police personnel in all anti-drug operations.
It later issued a separate directive requiring all police units that in conducting drug operations, a PDEA agent should tag along with them.
In PDEA 7, there are only three operating personnel for the entire Central Visayas, making it difficult for police to
conduct operations against drugs.
New guidelines
Now that PDEA Central Office has issued new operational guidelines in conducting anti-illegal drug operations, Comendador said it is time that the CCPO creates the task force.
The new guidelines were issued last Aug. 9, but the CCPO received its copy only last Sept. 3.
Under the new guidelines, physical presence of a PDEA agent or supervisor is only mandatory during “high value/impact targets” such as operations involving clandestine laboratories, operational targets involving Filipino-Chinese, Chinese and
other foreign nationals, major drug seizures and other sensational cases.
“In other cases, the supervisor may not join the conduct of operations in consideration to the circumstances of time, distance and resources,” the guidelines said.
Comendador brushed aside speculation that the task force was created as an offshoot of the disbandment of the Vice Control Section, whose three operatives were recently accused of extortion.
He said the creation of the task force was initiated based on an order from Camp Crame.
Comendador, though, believes that the creation of the task force, which will be headed by CCPO Deputy Chief for Operations Pablo Labra II, will minimize, if not stop, the alleged extortion activities of some policemen.
“There will be centralized operational efforts, a check and balance on the campaign against illegal drugs,” he said. (JST)
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