GMA ORDERS TOTAL DRUG CLEAN-UP

PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday warned that politicians and law
enforcers who are involved in the drug trade or neglect their duties
are also the target of the all-out campaign against illegal drugs.

The President issued the warning following last Friday's raid on a
flea market in Pasig City where shabu was openly sold.

She said the coddlers of drug pushers and traffickers will be dealt
with sternly and prosecuted and jailed along with the hard core criminals.

"I order the police to clean up all drug enclaves in the metropolis,
whether they are in the slums or the affluent neighborhoods. These are
nests of ruin and criminality that should never be allowed to fester,"
the President said.

Police and anti-drug agents arrested at least 200 suspected drug users
and pushers including minors when they swooped down on the drug
market. The market also had designated entry and exit points and
cubicles for sniffing shabu.

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao promptly ordered the relief
of the policemen assigned to the precinct near the drug market. He
also demanded an explanation from the Pasig City police and local officials.

The President said the minors from among those arrested should be
brought in for rehabilitation.

"A festering drug problem signals corruption, social decay and
familial disintegration. We must wield the consolidated power of all
concerned agencies, the schools, the private sector and the church to
bear upon this grim challenge," she said.