BI, PDEA ink pact to fight illegal drugs

07/20/2008

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has assumed a more active role in the fight against illegal drugs as it forged an agreement with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration (PDEA) to intensify the campaign against foreigners involved in the manufacture, distribution and trafficking of narcotics.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan and PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago signed last Tuesday a memorandum of agreement (MoA) wherein the two agencies pledged to strengthen their cooperation and partnership in going after foreign drug lords and traffickers operating in the country.

Libanan hailed the agreement as a giant step in the government’s anti-drug campaign as it focused attention to the fact that a large volume of illegal drugs in the country came from abroad and are manufactured by foreigners.

He also cited the instances where law enforcers have arrested foreigners suspected of being drug chemists in raids of suspected drug dens and drug laboratories.

“With this agreement, we are serving notice to these foreign drug lords that their days are numbered and that it won’t be long before the long arm of the law will catch them,” Libanan said.

Under the MoA, the BI agreed to assist the PDEA in investigating drug cases involving foreigners and in collecting, establishing and maintaining a travel database of suspected foreign drug lords who frequently enter and exit the country.

The BI also agreed to include in its watchlist and issue a mission order against foreigners suspected of involvement in illegal drugs aside from filing cases against them for violation of immigration laws.

On the other hand, the PDEA will establish a strong partnership the BI in jointly investigating and sharing intelligence information with the bureau about suspected foreign drug personalities.

It will also help the BI in processing and analyzing intelligence information about illegal aliens suspected of being drug traffickers.

Further, the PDEA pledged to extend to the BI all necessary operational and administrative assistance, including orienting BI personnel on the salient features of the anti-drug law and the mechanics and operations of the PDEA. Conrado Ching

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