Central Luzon police disband drug units

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — The Central Luzon police have dissolved all drug enforcement units after President Rodrigo Duterte tasked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to lead the campaign against illegal drugs.

Chief Supt. Amador Corpus, regional police director, said that the work of the police’s drug enforcement group would now be limited to intelligence gathering.

Drug-related cases under investigation would be turned over to PDEA, he said.

According to him, police in the region’s seven provinces would concentrate on decreasing street crimes.

He also instructed commanders to reiterate that crime prevention was 24-hour work and directed them to ban police officers from using mobile telephones for texting or for playing games while on duty. —Tonette Orejas