GOV'T GOING AFTER 11 INT'L, 215 LOCAL DRUG SYNDICATES

The government is targeting 11 transnational and 215 local drug syndicates
operating in the country in line with its intensified anti-drugs crackdown,
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced yesterday.

The President said the drug rings have been listed in the "order of battle"
of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) following its two-day
intelligence workshop in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Of the 215 local drug groups, 116 have operations in Luzon, 48 in the
Visayas, and 51 in Mindanao.

Mrs. Arroyo, who attended the last day of the workshop, directed PDEA
Director General Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido Jr to assign specific units
to neutralize each target.

"Itong mga grupong ito ang ating tututukan at lalansagin upang hindi na sila
makapaghasik ng lagim dito sa ating bansa," she said in news briefing in
Camp Crame.

The government is aiming for a drug-free Philippines by 2005.

The PDEA workshop aimed to come up with accurate data on current local and
international drug groups and personalities operating in the country, to
determine the flow of drugs, and to allocate specific targets, by priority,
to operating units.

It was attended by PDEA regional directors and representatives of the
Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI),
Bureau of Customs (BoC), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA),
and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

While the PDEA is not yet fully operational with still limited personnel and
resources, the President directed the PNP, NBI, and other law enforcement
agencies, as deputized PDEA agents, to continue to conduct anti-drug
operations.

All law enforcement agencies likewise are required to work with local
government units (LGUs) and the community to establish a united front
against these drug syndicates.

Aside from the identified drug syndicates, the President said the government
will also run after all personalities involved in street-level pushing in
coordination with local anti-drug abuse councils and local government units
under the supervision of the Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG) headed by Secretary Jose Lina Jr.