AGLIPAY VOWS TO REDUCE ILLEGAL DRUG USE

QUEZON CITY - PNP Director General Edgardo Aglipay vowed over the weekend
to exert more effort against demand reduction on the use of prohibited
drugs in Metro Manila.

"But of course, the move is anchored on the theory that to demand reaction
is a key to help a user ward off from the destructive vice," General
Aglipay told "Handog ng Pag-asa", a weekend anti-drug oriented program over
Radyo ng Bayan (DZRB).

In the same radio interview, he stressed that the drug test for policemen
will continue without let-up to rid the police organization from drug users
and dependents.

"Walang ningas-kogon dito sa inyong PNP...ating ipagpapatuloy and ating
nasimulan lalo na hinggil sa pagbaka sa ipinagbabawal na gamot" (There is
no stopping in our quest to rid the society off drug users and dependent),
Aglipay told program hosts Gem Bilasano, Ms. Belen Gonong and anti-drug
advocate Ed Castillo.

Meanwhile, "Handog" hosts offered their services for the success of the
undertakings of the newly appointed Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) executive
director retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, Gen.
Dionisio Santiago.

They added that General Santiago is a best choice for the post vacated by
Undersecretary Jose Calida.

Aglipay ordered police station and field commanders to establish a working
tie-up with barangay officials to identify and arrest pushers and users in
the community.

Aired from 2-3 p.m every Saturday, "Handog" is a joint undertaking of Radyo
ng Bayan, the National Press Club Committee on Education and Scholarship
(NPC-CES) and the Seagulls Flight Foundation Inc. (SFFI), the country's
leading drug rehabilitation center.