DRUG SYNDICATES EARN P216B FROM 1.8-M USERS: LINA

BAGUIO -- Interior and Local Government Sec. Jose Lina Jr. Thursday
revealed that drug syndicates in the country have been earning P216
billion the past years--courtesy of the nation's 1.8 million regular
drug users.

Lina said the annual earnings of the drug syndicates are even higher
than the combined annual sales income of some of the biggest firms in
the country such as San Miguel Corporation and the two giant
telecommunication providers, Smart and Globe.

He said each of the 1.8 million regular drug users consume at least
six to eight grams of shabu a week or a total of 108 million grams of
shabu annually.

Lina, who is also the concurrent chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board
(DDB), said Thursday that drug users are among the perpetrators of
heinous crimes like murder, rape, theft and other high-profile crimes.

He added that 60 to 70 percent of the crimes committed in the country
for the past years are drug-related.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the drug menace in the country,
President Arroyo launched an all-out war against illegal drugs and
drug syndicates.

The stepped-up campaign resulted in the destruction of at least 19
shabu laboratories the last year alone and also the neutralization of
12 transnational drug syndicates.

He added that 23,000 users were also arrested and are now languishing
in jail while 249 policemen found to be involved in the illegal drug
trade were either dismissed from service or are now facing
administrative and criminal charges.

Although he claimed the government dealt a blow against the drug
syndicates, he said "many battles have been won but the war is not yet
over."

As such, Lina has rallied various government agencies and private
sector organizations to join the campaign against illegal drugs.

He commended Baguio officials for re-activating the Barangay Anti-Drug
Abuse Councils (Badacs) in the city's 128 barangays.

Lina, along with other Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG) officials and ranking officials of the PNP and the Philippine
Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Thursday, were in Baguio, which is one
of the host cities to the Lakbay Kontra Droga. The Lakbay Kontra Droga
is aimed at making the country drug-free by the year 2010.

Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office in the Cordilleras reported on
Wednesday that over 90 percent of the original 238 drug users and
pushers identified in the region as of June 16 last year have already
been neutralized.

However, 31 illegal drug users and pushers have also been newly
identified since then, to raise the total number of known suspects as
of February 15 this year to 54.

This was aside from the clearing of over 88 percent of all reported
drug-affected barangays within the Cordilleras during the same
eight-month period and the identification of 11 other newly affected
barangays since then.