Plans afoot for deployment of PDEA agents in Subic ports

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO,Pampanga, (PIA) – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Central Luzon affirmed the imminent deployment of PDEA agents in the air and sea ports inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, as part of the drug enforcement agency’s efforts on anti-drug courier.

In a press conference organized by the Philippine Information Agency- Region 3, Ronald Allan Ricardo, regional director of PDEA, said plans for the deployment are now being finalized.

PDEA, in partnership with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), is now setting the date for the deployment, it was learned.

Ricardo revealed that the deployment of PDEA agents in the Subic airport and seaport will be sometime in April.

Meanwhile, Ricardo has confirmed the deployment of its agents at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) since end of February.

He did not reveal the total number of PDEA agents currently deployed at the DMIA, but he assured that a “substantial” number of the drug enforcement agency’s agents has been deployed at the premiere airport.

Deployed PDEA agents at DMIA, said Ricardo, assist airport security in ensuring that no drug courier or drug mule enters or exits the country via the premiere airport.

Ricardo said the country may be lacking in terms of detection devices, but with intensive manning and strict inspection procedure at our airports, the PDEA expects that a decrease and eventual elimination of drug couriers will be attained.

Meanwhile, following the confirmed execution of three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in China sentenced with death penalty, PDEA has reiterated its call for the public to be more cautious and refrain from entertaining offers from drug syndicates which are bent on doing their business at the expense of others.

Ricardo cited the importance of intensified information and education campaign towards the total eradication of drug couriers, which, he said, is an effective tool in giving the public a better understanding of the consequences of being a drug courier or drug mule.

Currently, the government is conducting an intensified educational campaign through the PIA and its regional and provincial offices, in cooperation with the PDEA.

This campaign aims to create heightened awareness on the modus operandi of drug syndicates that prey upon unsuspecting OFWs who are recruited as drug couriers. (by William L. Beltran/PIA3)