DDB STEPS INTO JAYLO- AVENIDO RIFT AT PDEA

THE Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) is all set to referee the rift between two
ranking officers of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which
has become the subject of media reports.

DDB Executive Director Jose Calida said he will look into the results of
the raid conducted by Task Force Hunter chief Reynaldo Jaylo's men against
a suspected drug trafficker, Wilson Gan, to clarify the issue dividing
Jaylo and PDEA chief Anselmo Avenido.

Jaylo has accused Rodolfo Caisip, PDEA deputy director for operations, of
coddling Gan, who has been the subject of an antidrug operation by his Task
Force Hunter.

Avenido in turn issued a memorandum asking Jaylo to seek permission from
the PDEA mother unit first before carrying out any antidrug operation.
After this memorandum was sent out, Avenido said he received death threats
from certain persons allegedly connected with Jaylo's office.

Calida stressed that the conflict between Avenido and Jaylo is an internal
matter, since it covers certain operational policies. Task Force Hunter, he
said, is an operating unit under the control of its mother unit, which is
the PDEA.