9 DRUG LORDS STILL OPERATING IN CENTRAL LUZON, SAYS PDEA

ANGELES CITY - Illegal drugs remain a "serious problem" in Central
Luzon, with nine drug lords behind their distribution. This, despite
the cost of shabu now up to P3,000 per gram from P2,000.

"For each arrest we make, the drug lords recruit two pushers to take
the place of the arrested suspect," Senior Superintendent Jerome
Baxinella, regional chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
(PDEA), told reporters in a briefing here yesterday.

"The problem of illegal drug pushing and use has remained a serious
problem in Central Luzon. There are no indications that there are
still shabu laboratories in the region, but there seems to be abundant
supply coming from Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog, particularly
Cavite," Baxinella said.

In a report to Malacanang last week, the regional PDEA office said the
"long shorelines and high seas" of Bataan, Zambales and Aurora, all
within the jurisdiction of Region 3, "are very susceptible to big-time
drug shipside smuggling operations."

The PDEA-Central Luzon said international drug syndicates can also
make use of airports and seaports in the region as "major
transshipment points."

Baxinella, however, said there seems to be no foreign drug syndicates
based in Central Luzon.

He said they have identified the nine drug lords and their henchmen,
and that he would reveal them soon.

Twenty-two other local drug lords have been "neutralized" and charged
in courts, he added.

"Our relentless anti-illegal drugs campaign has led to a shortage of
shabu whose price has consequently (increased) from P2,000 to as much
as P3,000 per gram. Yet the illegal drugs trade, mostly consisting of
shabu, seems to have remained lucrative for the drug lords," he said.

He said street peddlers of shabu get P200 for each gram that they
sell.

Baxinella cited intelligence reports that scalawags in the police
force are coddling some of the known drug lords but admitted that they
still have to gather evidence against these lawmen.

He said some cases against suspected drug dealers are dismissed by the
courts due to "technical reasons" or the failure of policemen to
appear during hearings.

"In some cases, lawyers of the suspects (cite) Republic Act 9165 which
requires that all operations against illegal drugs be coordinated with
the PDEA. Otherwise, the cases are dismissed for non-compliance with
this technicality," Baxinella said.

According to the PDEA report, covering the period from Jan. 1 to Aug.
15 this year, 304,643 grams of shabu, valued at P609.2 million, and
14,153 grams of dried marijuana worth P142,180, had been seized in
Central Luzon.

Since January, the PDEA-Central Luzon said it has conducted 570
anti-illegal drug operations, consisting of 247 buy-busts and 323
search and seizure missions, resulting in the arrest of 384 suspected
drug pushers, 512 drug users, and 10 other people who were in
possession of prohibited drugs.

The illegal drugs problem in the region, it said, is perceived to be
still "serious" despite the significant gains of law enforcement units.

The regional PDEA office has 22 personnel.