AFP to form task force to support PDEA drug war

Gen. Eduardo Año, AFP chief. (Photo from the Facebook page of the AFP)

BAGUIO CITY—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will create a battalion-size task force to support the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) war on drugs.

The task force is patterned after its existing anti-drug unit Task Force Moses, but this time it will have its “strike force component,” AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año told reporters on Saturday evening.

A typical Philippine battalion consists of about 500 soldiers but the anti-drug task force that will support PDEA could be increased to up to 5,000 soldiers “depending on the situation.”

The PDEA was tasked to take the lead in the administration’s war on drugs while the Philippine National Police is cleansing its ranks following the death of a South Korean businessman allegedly killed by rogue policemen. President Rodrigo Duterte has called on the AFP to play a support role.

Año said they will not do the PNP’s Oplan Tokhang that does a door-to-door campaign in going after drug users but instead would help PDEA in going after “high-level syndicates.”

The AFP chief earlier said they are just waiting for an executive order to formalize their support role in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. RAM/rga

READ: AFP just awaiting formal order to join war on drugs