Eleazar disputes PDEA claim spread of drugs due to cops

September 17, 2019

Police Major General Guillermo Eleazar, National Capital Region chief,  on Tuesday said he “cannot completely agree” with the statement of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Aaron Aquino that proliferation of drugs is rampant due to the alleged involvement of cops.

In a statement, Eleazar said they appreciate the support PDEA has given to them during joint operations against illegal drugs.

“However, with all due respect, I cannot agree completely with PDEA Director Aaron Aquino’s statement in the Senate hearing yesterday that the main reason illegal drugs still proliferate is primarily due to the recycling of drugs by policemen themselves,” he said.

“Unless they can identify to us these policemen with validated reports, the sweeping statement made by the PDEA director is not necessarily true, on face value,” he added.

Though there are still isolated and limited cases of drug recycling in Metro Manila, the NCRPO chief said he does not believe these are rampant enough to be the primary reason for the continuing drug trade.

“In fact, I would like to believe that this drug recycling malpractice is not existent anymore,” Eleazar said, citing his experience as head of the Quezon City Police District where he relieved all police personnel who got involved in drug recycling.

“My belief was that the old personnel in these units were inadvertently contaminated by the malpractices involving illegal drugs – including recycling, hulidaps (extortion) and kidnapping for ransom by rogue cops,” he said.

Since he started his term as NCRPO chief last 2018, Eleazar said he had confronted and relieved almost 500 cops where some were reassigned or administratively and criminally charged.

“As a result of this policy, our police personnel in all levels now maintain a keen eye on their companions for fear of getting penalized and their jobs jeopardized because of possible indiscriminate practices of the man next to him. No policeman now hesitates to come to us if they know of irregularities in their midst, especially on drugs,” he said.

He added that every policeman is alert, and fully aware of their surroundings which resulted to NCRPO having no record of any drug-related incident involving its active members in the past several months.

Eleazar said they even earned the trust and respect of the public which help them in curtailing drug related activities by our policemen.   

“That is why the claim of PDEA that the primary reason for the proliferation of drugs in Metro Manila is due to recycling by policemen defies logic. The aggression and ferocity by which we have dealt with these past narco-cops is enough to instill dread and fear among our commanders and our ranks. In fact, since the start of my term, we instituted a witch hunt for this type of cops. Now, our policemen keep clean for fear of losing their good paying jobs,” he said.

“The matter of policemen recycling business must be extremely isolated, if not non-existent at all, in Metro Manila. For sure, it cannot be the primary reason for drug proliferation in the metropolis. In any event, the NCRPO is handling these limited cases very well internally, and need not take the precious time and attention of the Senate of the country. With the help of the public, we can handle this business ourselves,” he added.

Eleazar told Aquino to focus on big distributors after they seized millions worth of shabu from just two operations and then urged the Senate to  examine and help in resolving the drug problem.

“Clearly, it is these big-time distributors and huge quantities that sustain drug proliferation not only in Metro Manila but in other regions as well. This is where our drug agencies like the PDEA should now focus on. Where are these coming from?  Who are responsible? How do these people get away with bringing in such voluminous amounts of drugs in the country?  Why is there a continuous huge supply available for distribution? How do these volumes come into Metro Manila?,” he said.

“This is what the Senate should explore, examine and help resolve through legislation. From our operations this week where we discovered huge volumes of shabu, it is sad to note that the war on drugs is far from over. Truly, our country can use all the help that the honorable Senate can provide,” Eleazar added. Ella Dionisio/DMS