NEW PNP CHIEF WANTS PRIESTS AS DRUG BUSTERS

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union-Barely two days before Malacanang's
announcement of his appointment as the new chief of the Philippine
National Police, PNP Deputy Director General Edgardo Aglipay did a
swing of Northern Luzon on an urgent mission. He suggested the clergy
should not only be shepherds of their flock, but also be drug busters.

Aglipay flew here on Tuesday, the last stop in his itinerary and
briefed all priests in the province, headed by diocesan administrator
Fr. Samuel Banayat Jr., on the progress and failures of the ongoing
nationwide campaign against illegal drugs.

Aglipay delivered the same message earlier in Cagayan Valley and in
Laoag, Ilocos Norte.

"The Catholic Church is a sleeping giant who can help us [police] a
lot in our campaign of eradicating illegal drugs. The Church has a
credible influence on the country's population of almost 80 percent,"
Aglipay explained.

He said that in 1972, there were only 20,000 illegal drug users. By
1998, the number has soared to 3.4 million.

Users have since risen to a "very alarming" 8 and 10
million.

Aglipay reported that from June 2003 to June 2004, the Anti-Illegal
Drug Special Operation Task Force (Aidsoft) he headed confiscated
P25-billion worth of mainly shabu and also dismantled 25 illegal drug
laboratories and warehouses. Some 239 drug groups, six of them
international syndicates, have been smashed.

The task force also seized real properties worth P250 million
allegedly financed with drug money. Some of the properties have now
been turned into drug rehabilitation centers.

Of the 35,514 people arrested for illegal drugs the cases of 17,516
cases have been filed in court.

Aglipay said 5,334 drug affected barangays have been cleared while 43
drug lords, mostly from China, were arrested.

But Aglipay also admitted that at least one percent of the
113,000-strong national police is involved in illegal drugs, 308 of
whom were already arrested.

He said the task force assigned personnel to concentrate mainly on
policemen suspected of involvement in drugs.

Aglipay detailed units to look for drug laboratories, drug lords and
pushers.

Despite those achievements, he acknowledged that the country's drug
problem has become "very alarming" because most of the reported users
are young and some of them are using it on a daily basis.

He described marijuana as a "gateway drug" while the effects of other
illegal drugs, like shabu, could be linked directly to mental illness,
unwanted pregnancies and accidents among others.

"We appeal for your help to clear our police. Help inspire the PNP,
please pray for us and help us in our campaign against illegal drugs,"
Aglipay told the priests and community leaders.

In his response, Banayat promised to help surmount the problem by
working through continuous information dissemination regarding the ill
effects of illegal drugs.

"The diocese will really help and we will give our full support and
cooperation to eradicate illegal drugs. We will disseminate the ill
effects of drugs in our diocesan schools, youth organizations, to the
Parish Pastoral Council and to the ecclesiastical communities," he
said.

Aglipay said he asked permission from the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines to conduct briefings and consultations with the
clergy throughout the country regarding the drug menace.