THE Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership has underscored the major role played by the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) in the previous Duterte government’s unrelenting campaign against illegal drug trafficking and abuse over the past six years and amid the same commitment of the new Marcos administration to address the problem which has been long been considered as a major threat to national security.

PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr. last week also paid tribute to members of the police force who have sacrificed their lives while going after armed and dangerous drug traffickers.

At least 56 policemen have been killed while fighting drugs while 160 others died in anti-criminality operations since 2016. Ten of the slain cops were from Metro Manila, said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, Major Gen. Felipe R. Natividad.

“Ten or 15 years ago, we have a very big drug problem, Those were tough times I would say. However, we really cannot avoid the fact that some of our personnel would be affected as a result of our campaign against drugs,” said Danao during the 5th founding anniversary of the PNP-DEG headed by Brigadier Gen. Randy Q. Peralta last week.

The top cop said he could not really imagine what would happen if the government did not launch its vaunted war on drugs since 2016. “Kung hindi tayo nag-istrikto, we’re doomed. I just hope that incidents like bangketa and recycling of drugs involving rogues in uniform would be a thing of the past,” he added while encouraging the PNP-DEG under the new Marcos administration to focus more on its drug demand reduction program.

“To all members of the uniformed service, think not only twice but a thousand times if you would resort to drug recycling and other illegal activities,” he added.

Danao cited the PNP-DEG for a job well done even as he ordered Peralta to see to it that prohibited drugs they have confiscated will be destroyed the soonest to prevent fears of ‘recycling.’

The PNP-DEG was used to be known as the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group which was ordered dissolved in January 2017 by then President Duterte following the infamous kidnapping-slay case of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo said to have been perpetrated by several rogue PNP-AIDG officers and men.

On June 2, 2017, the PNP-AIDG was reorganized and renamed as PNP-DEG whose main mission is to conduct anti-illegal drug operations against foreign and local drug trafficking syndicates.

Its 1st director was Chief Superintendent Graciano J. Mijares who led the unit from March 6, 2017 to October 20, 2017 followed by Chef Supt. Joseph C. Adnol from October 20, 2017 to December 11, 2017.

Adnol was later replaced by then Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius D. Ferro who was on an official mission abroad as director of the PNP-AIDG when the Jee Ick Yoo case took place. Ferro introduced a demand reduction strategy called Project R.E.A.D.Y. or the Resistance Education Against Drugs for the Youth during his term from December 11,2017 to October 20, 2019.

The project eventually became a national best practice.

Brig. Gen. Romeo M. Caramat Jr., now the Police Regional Office 13 (PRO13) director in Caraga, became the 4th PNP-DEG director from October 20, 2019 to September 17, 2020.

Caramat also engineered the biggest drug haul in the history of anti-illegal drug operations in the country with a successful single buy-bust operation in Barangay Lias in Marilao, Bulacan which led to the seizure of 828 kilograms of shabu worth P5.6 billion and the arrest of three Chinese nationals.

He was replaced by Brig. Gen. Armando S. de Leon who became the PNP-DEG director from September 17 to November 13, 2020. De Leon was replaced by Brig. Gen. Ronald O. Lee, now the Cordillera police director who also led the unit in multimillion-peso drug busts and dozens of arrest of ‘high-value targets.’

The 7th PNP-DEG director was Brig. Gen. Remus B. Medina who headed the unit from April 5, 2021 to February 3, 2022. Under Medina, the PNP-DEG activated all its 17 Special Operations Units across the country.

Now the Quezon City Police District director, Medina started the conduct of periodic DEG Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operations (SACLEO) or the former ‘One-Time, Big-Time’ anti-criminality operations of the police force.

He also started the massive deployment of Narcotics Detection Dogs in major seaports and public bus terminals in the country to help deter drug trafficking in these major points of convergence.

Last April, Medina received the Congressional Recognition Award for accounting for P13.6 billion worth of shabu and other prohibited drugs.

Last February 10, Medina was replaced as PNP-DEG director by Peralta, his classmate from PNP Academy Class 1993.

Since then, the PNP-DEG under Peralta further intensified its crackdown against drugs focusing on the prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration aspects as well as law enforcement operations.

From February 10, 2022 to present, the PNP-DEG under Brig. Gen. Peralta has accounted for more than P952 million worth of shabu and other illegal drugs as a result of 374 anti-narcotics operations it conducted.

Those operations led to the recovery of over 120 kilograms of shabu, the uprooting and destruction of more than 530,000 pieces of fully-grown marijuana plants and seedlings and seizure of nearly 18 kilos of dried cannabis leaves and its high derivative called Kush as well as 460 Mogadon tablets.

Also accounted for by PNP-DEG operatives during the period were 418 known drug traffickers, five of them killed in gunbattles with DEG officers during the conduct of buy-bust operations and 11 illegal firearms.

The drug arrests and seizures were made by the PNP-DEG during the period as a result of 374 law enforcement operations composed of 63 buy-bust operations, the service of 233 warrants of arrest and a search warrant for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2003 as well as 5 marijuana eradication and 2 interdiction operations nationwide.

Last June 29, the PNP-DEG marked its 5th founding anniversary amid its commitment to continue a more aggressive campaign versus illegal drug trafficking and abuse under the new Marcos administration.

The PNP and PNP-DEG leaderships have also expressed their full support to President Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s strong commitment to continue the battle against drugs within the framework of the law and with full respect for human rights.

“We are now focusing our sight on the rehabilitation and socio-economic development aspect thru the help of other government and law enforcement agencies,” Peralta said.

When it comes to demand reduction, the PNP-DEG now boast of 126 Project R.E.A.D.Y. officers who have already conducted three seminars and 181 drug awareness lectures which benefited nearly 17,000 participants since last February.

Apart from being the lead unit in the PNP’s drug supply reduction program, the PNP-DEG is also vastly involved in a massive drug demand reduction program across the country.

“We are on a mission to ensure that former drug patients who have undergone rehabilitation thru the help of the government will really turn out to be productive citizens of the country and will be the role models of what a truly reformed former drug abuser is,” Peralta told the Journal Group.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon