SENATE TAKES UP CREATION OF PDEA

The Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs began deliberating
yesterday on a bill which seeks to create a super drug enforcement agency
patterned after the Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States.

Committee chairman Sen. Robert Barbers said Senate Bill 363, or the act
creating the Presidential Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), will address the
growing drug abuse and drug trafficking problem in the country.

"The proposal aims to improve the efficiency of our campaign against illegal
drugs through the integration and consolidation of various units in the
different agencies in the government (which are) involved in the illegal
drug problem," Barbers said.

According to Barbers, the PDEA will be under the direct control and
supervision of the Office of the President to insure a "well-orchestrated"
effort against drug abuse and trafficking.

Under the measure, all drug-related cases will be automatically turned over
to the PDEA, which in turn will make the necessary investigations and file
criminal cases against suspected drug traffickers.

The agency will also be responsible for the treatment and rehabilitation of
drug abusers, including the setting up of drug rehabilitation centers
throughout the country.

The PDEA will be headed by a director general as chairman of the board,
whose members will be comprised of representatives from the departments of
health, education, justice, interior and local government, national defense,
social welfare and department, and Bureau of Food and Drugs.

The proposed measure also seeks to abolish all government law enforcement
agencies dealing with drugs and transfer their functions and personnel to
the PDEA.