Friday, December 22, 2006 Media's refusal to witness v. drug suspects scored By Maricar O. Aranas
THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Negros Oriental expressed disappointment with some members of the local media for their refusal to take the witness stand.
PDEA chief Manuel Sanchez said there have been a number of cases filed in court, which have been dismissed due to failure of media representative to appear on court hearings.
Also, inaccurate testimonies of the media and some barangay officials caused cases to be dismissed by the court.
Under Republic Act 9165, a media representative is required to be present during raids.
Media is also summoned to testify during hearings of drug cases.
Sanchez said even during raids some media personalities are hesitant to sign in the inventory receipt.
However, Sanchez admitted that testifying before the court will affect a media person's job.
Sanchez attributed the success of the illegal drugs campaign in the province to the media for their help during raids and also in disseminating information on how illegal drugs can destroy a person.
Task Force 24 reiterates its call for support from the community in eliminating the proliferation of illegal drugs.
Meanwhile, there will be a PDEA examination for the Visayas scheduled on the first quarter of next year.
The PDEA Regional office decided to conduct another examination in order to attain the total number of PDEA personnel.
Last examination, Negros Oriental had only 14 passers.
All interested applicants can visit the PDEA office at the Dumaguete Philippine National Police station for the application forms.
