PNP to intensify operations against high-value drug targets amid pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police chief Gen. Archie Gamboa has instructed PNP commanders to initiate operations against high-value drug targets belonging to the top 10 most wanted drug personalities in their jurisdictions amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Gamboa said this was among his instructions during a command conference among members of the PNP command group, directorial staff, directors of national support units, and regional directors over the weekend.

“In addition, I also echoed the guidance of President Rodrigo Duterte for PNP units to seize every opportunity to be on the offensive against illegal drugs,” Gamboa said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday.

“An all-out offensive puts the lives of our PNP personnel at risk so we must exercise all possible precautions to ensure that they are safe and that no lives are lost,” he added.

To recall, Gamboa, when he was still PNP officer-in-charge in January, vowed to intensify operations against middle-level and high-value targets of the Duterte administration’s controversial drug war in 2020.

Latest data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as of January 2020 showed there are a total of 8,811 high-value targets arrested by authorities since the drug war started in 2016.

A total of 5,601 suspects died while 228,678 were arrested in 157,275 anti-drug operations conducted nationwide. However, human rights groups say the number of persons who died in drug raids and buy-busts could be much higher.

Meanwhile, apart from the crackdown on high-value targets, Gamboa also instructed his men to maximize the use of information and communication technology, adding that digital law enforcement ensures faster exchange of information and tactical accuracy on ground operations.

An advanced training on management of social media accounts of police units should also be conducted, according to Gamboa.

He also said PNP units should sustain annual recruitment cycles within the year and facilitate new modes of holding traditional events and ceremonies within the organization under the so-called new normal brought about by the coronavirus crisis.

Aside from these instructions, Gamboa also ordered the concerned PNP offices to fast-track the construction of another reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 testing laboratory in Central Visayas.

JE