Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday he signed a department order on Tuesday that authorized the NBI to get involved in the war on drugs. File photo
MANILA, Philippines - Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are again authorized to arrest drug suspects and to probe drug-related cases.
The return of the NBI to the war on drugs followed a similar move for the Philippine National Police. President Duterte had pulled out the PNP and NBI from the drug war after the kidnapping and murder of a South Korean businessman by members of the main police anti-drug unit right inside PNP headquarters at Camp Crame.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday he signed a department order on Tuesday that authorized the NBI to get involved in the war on drugs.
He explained that under the law, either the president or the justice secretary could issue such as order.
“Our President has returned to the NBI the power and authority to investigate and, if necessary, to arrest and raid in drug operations,” he added.
In December 2016, the NBI seized at least 1,100 kilos of shabu worth P6.6 billion and arrested three Chinese and three Filipinos in a raid in a house in San Juan City.
Aguirre said he wants the court to issue an order to destroy the illegal drugs seized by authorities so government employees will not get tempted to resell the contraband amounting to roughly P10 million per kilo.
The head of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), meanwhile, expressed his support for “long overdue” stricter sanctions for local executives deemed as non-performing in the administration’s war on drugs.
DDB chairman Benjamin Reyes yesterday said the government is now looking to penalize elected officials who fail to step up in the campaign against illegal drugs, the centerpiece program of the Duterte administration.
He also lamented that they receive reports from officials of capable local government units (LGUs) who still do not know how to intensify efforts against illegal drugs despite the eight-month drug war.
“We still have so many things to do. The LGUs should realize that they have an important role in the campaign. If they do not do their part, it will be difficult for us. Almost all are onboard, the question is how much effort are they giving for this campaign?” he added.
A memorandum circular from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is being crafted with guidance from the DDB and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the lead government arm in the campaign on illegal drugs.
The circular will mandate stricter compliance and penalties, which could include suspension for local officials who fail to address the drug problem in their areas.
The circular is expected to be released in a few weeks and will cover officials from barangays to the provincial level, according to Juan Jovian Ingeniero, assistant regional director of the DILG-National Capital Region.
The drug war was marred by reports of summary killings and human rights violations. The government then launched a revised program called Project Double Barrel: Reloaded.
PNP: Highest death toll in CL
While the first week of Project Double Barrel: Reloaded appears to be less bloody, 27 drug suspects were killed in the revised drug war from March 6 to 15 nationwide.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded the highest number of drug-related death in Central Luzon.
Central Luzon has 16 deaths, Central Visayas, five and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, two. The National Capital Region, Ilocos, Southern Tagalog and Western Mindanao have one death each.
From March 6 to 15, 1,102 drug pushers and users were arrested, of whom 221 came from Central Visayas.
As to the cases of death under investigation or DUI, PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said the PNP continues to probe these cases committed during the first drug war, the Project Double Barrel Alpha.
Carlos said that of the 4,435 DUIs, 1,409 cases have been concluded and filed in courts.
Duterte asks allies in Senate to support drug war
espite the thousands of deaths and human rights violations committed under the drug war, President Duterte asked his allies in the Senate to support it as well as the other programs he has for the economy.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the President made the request to the 15 senators before they ended their meeting last Tuesday night.
“I know the attitude of the President. He never asks for a favor or help. But in this particular dinner he basically mentioned ‘give me some time to clean up this problem of peace and order and the economy.’ And basically the projects that he’s trying to push, anti-poverty projects, he asked us to give him some time so that he can make it work. For me, I appreciate that. I completely appreciate his effort to ask for support,” Zubiri said.
Zubiri noted that there are many calls for the President to step down and the destabilization efforts continue against his administration, which was why the President wanted to tell them to allow him to do his job.
He said that such a meeting was not at all unusual and has been done by every President in the past.
“That’s very normal. If you’re the President wouldn’t you have asked for support? Put yourself in his shoes. Let’s just imagine one minute that you’re the President and you have all the senators there, wouldn’t you say please give me a chance to do my job. I think that’s very human of him,” he added. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Romina Cabrera, Marvin Sy
Source : http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/16/1681658/after-pnp-nbi-also-rejoins-drug-war