PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said “based on intelligence information,” the bulk of illegal drugs coming in the country came from China.
“‘Yung mga drugs as per intel reports, sinasabi nga na galing China. Hindi naman lahat, (pero) these are all indications na merong involvement... ‘Yung bulk, pwede masabi na marami nakukuha (from China),” he said.
But, in accordance to President Rodrigo Duterte's statement, Albayalde said such intelligence report still needs to be validated.
“Totoo ang sabi ng Presidente na that has to be validated, because what we have are intelligence information; it has to be validated,” he said.
Albayalde said aside from the illegal drugs coming from China, there were also locally produced illegal drugs, such as ecstasy and cocaine.
In his speech at the launch of former President Fidel Ramos’ book “Prosper thy neighbor,” Duterte said the Chinese should not be immediately blamed for the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.
He said “thorough investigation” should be conducted first before making any pronouncements.
"Do not conclude right away that the owner of the container is the smuggler of the drugs. Kawawa naman 'yung mga tao, especially the legit importers, and their containers are taken advantage of by criminals," Duterte said.
"It's more important really not to drag along innocent people into a criminal case which we are not sure of," he added.
In May 2017, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) recovered 605 kilos of shabu worth P6.4 billion from a shipment from China that slipped past the Bureau of Customs and was discovered in a warehouse in Valenzuela City.
In August, authorities intercepted at the BOC two magnetic lifters that contained 500 kilos of shabu.
Days later, empty four magnetic lifters were found in a warehouse in Cavite. PDEA alleged that the magnetic lifters were containing at least a ton of illegal drugs, which may have already been distributed on the streets.
PDEA said Chinese nationals were involved in the shabu-carrying magnetic lifters. (SunStar Philippines)