PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar Albayalde said Wednesday, February 20, that he does not believe the blocks of cocaine found along the country's eastern seaboard were intentionally thrown as a diversionary tactic.

“Una, 'yung cocaine hindi masyadong pinapatronize dito sa Pilipinas so I don’t see any diversionary tactics as of this time, not unless na ito ay diversionary and it’s intended for other countries. Pwede kasi ‘yun, diversionary tactics (‘yung cocaine and intended ito for delivery to other countries but not necessarily here in the Philippines, " he said.

“Pwedeng mangyari din iyon (para) magpasok ng shabu in other places, although kung diversionary ito napakarami naman, napakalaking halaga ito para gawing diversionary tactics,” he added.

(It's possible that a large shipment of shabu, or methamphetamine hydrochloride, would be smuggled into the country through other ports. But the amount of cocaine is too large to be just a diversionary tactic.)

Albayalde said the recovered blocks of cocaine might have been in the seas for a long time and washed ashore recently.

Following the recovery of blocks of cocaine worth millions of pesos along the shorelines of Camarines Norte, Siargao, Dinagat Island and Quezon, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Aaron Aquino expresed belief that the country is being used as transhipment of drugs and that the drug trafficking organizations are using it to distract the security forces in order to smuggle larger amount of shabu which is the top illegal substance consumed in the country.

However, the PNP Chief said the Maritime Group has already intensified the conduct of monitoring and patrolling along the eastern coastlines, which face the Pacific Ocean. (SunStar Philippines)