PDEA, PNP: Chinese dealing in illegal drugs not a new trend

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino (center) and PDEA Director III Irish Calaguas (left) led two operations in Muntinlupa that yielded 166.5 kilograms of crystal meth worth an estimated P1.13 billion. (Photo from PDEA)

MANILA, Philippines — The overwhelming number of Chinese nationals arrested in anti-drug operations in the country is not indicative of a new trend under the Duterte administration, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday.

In a press briefing at the Dangerous Drugs Board office, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) spokesperson Director Derrick Carreon explained that more Chinese nationals had been arrested because they controlled the drug trade in the Philippines.

“As regards to the presence of Chinese, it has been a standing trend through the years. It’s nothing new that majority of those operating shabu laboratories in the Philippines and even those behind bulk smuggling are Chinese nationals,” Carreon said.

Carreon pointed out that 60 percent of all foreign drug suspects happened to be Chinese — whether from mainland China or Hong Kong or Taiwan.

“So that’s a given,” he said.

Asked if this was a result of renewed ties between the Chinese and Philippine governments, both Carreon and Lt. Col. Kimberly Molitas, deputy spokesperson of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said diplomatic relations were not a factor.

“No, since the drug… the campaign of the past governments, this has already been the same issue with China. So this is not about the new government having our relationship with China,” Molitas stressed.

“We don’t think so,” Carreon agreed.

Molitas said that Chinese drug suspects did not delve into diplomacy issues, considering the drug trade as a purely business concern.

“The drug menace has always been there,” she said. “You have to remember that the drug trade is a trade, and for these people, this is business. This is money for them. This is regardless of what the effect is with the consumers.”

On being elected in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to restore relations with the Asian superpower, after strained ties due to maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea and the arbitration case filed against China by the previous administration.

READ: PH-China ties improving ‘beautifully’ under Duterte – Chinese envoy

However, the President has been accused several times of favoring China over Filipino public interests, especially in dealing with projects that were granted through Chinese aid.

Issues such as lopsided loan contracts, the illegal entry of Chinese workers in the country, and close ties to alleged Chinese drug lords have been thrown against him.

Despite these criticisms, the President vowed to support China — whom he said had promised to help and protect the country.

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