HEROIN NOT MADE IN RP

The United States government yesterday clarified that the Philippines
is not an exporter of heroin but only a transit point in the region.

US embassy press officer Ruth Urry said a careful reading of the CIA
World Factbook 2004 would show that the Philippines produces and
trades locally grown marijuana but not heroin.

"The CIA has a factbook for every country. If you study the text, you
would see that the Philippines is only a transit point, not an
exporter," she said in an interview.

The factbook, posted on the CIA Web site, stated that the Philippines
"exports locally produced marijuana and hashish to East Asia, the US
and other Western markets and serves as a transit point for heroin and
crystal metamphetamine."

Heroin is produced from poppy plants. Countries in Asia that grow
poppy include Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Afghanistan, India,
Turkey and Tasmania.

Urry, however, said the Philippine government should not look at the
report as a criticism from Washington but only as a statement of fact.

"This is not unusual. Narcotics is an international problem and every
nation should take steps to strengthen their law enforcement to stop
the flow of drugs."

Senators React

Former law enforcers-turned senators - Panfilo Lacson, Alfredo Lim and
Rodolfo Biazon - debunked the notion that the Philippines is
manufacturing not only shabu, marijuana and hashish, but also heroin
for export to other countries.

"The country may be manufacturing shabu... but I doubt the report that
we are now producing heroin," said Lacson, who served as director
general of the Philippine National Police during the Estrada
administration.

Lim agreed with Lacson, and said there was no report indicating that
the Philippines is producing and exporting heroin to countries in Asia
and Europe, and the United States.

"The country may serve as transshipment point of heroin. But I don't
think it is being manufactured here," Lim said.

"The veracity of this report has yet to be confirmed. But we must
emphasize that our sustained campaign against illegal drugs has cut
the domestic drug trade in half," said Presidential Spokesperson
Ignacio Bunye.

He said the government has been working with China and other Asian
neighbors to stop the traffic of drugs by exchanging information and
intelligence.