Committee on Dangerous Drugs wants more intel funds

The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairperson wants the government to allocate bigger intelligence funds to agencies running after drug syndicates following a recent series of shabu hauls in various provinces.

In an interview on Monday, Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers— who heads the panel—expressed the belief that there is a need for augmentation on the budget of intelligence operatives in law enforcement units.

"We still need additional intelligence funds for our law enforcers, especially those that are tackling and running after drugs syndicates," he said.

"Because you're fighting a syndicate. It is a global syndicate. So it's not very easy to catch them without having intelligence funds," the lawmaker said.

Barbers stressed that while the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement and Agency have a "quite significant amount," there remains a need for additional funding.

"So there is a need really to increase the budget of the intelligence operatives in the law enforcement units," he added.

The call for an increase of funds was prompted by a series of recent drug hauls wherein multi-billion worth of shabu were seized.

About 530 kilos of "shabu" worth P3.6 billion was seized from a warehouse in Mexico, Pampanga, last Wednesday, which, according to Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, was the biggest catch so far under the Marcos administration.

It was intercepted in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of Justice.

In late August, authorities recovered 200 kilos of shabu worth P1.3 billion found abandoned in a car parked at a supermarket in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. asked Barber's panel to probe the seizure of ₱4.9 billion illicit substances and to ascertain the source, as he stressed that his province, Pampanga, is not a haven for drug traffickers.

"Pampanga is not known as the home ground of drug traffickers, but the latest drug confiscations are giving it a bad image. If this is an incipient problem in our area, let us nip it in the bud," he said.

Barbers and Gonzales filed House Resolution 134, seeking an investigation into the massive haul of shabu.

According to lawmakers, there is a "need to revisit all relevant laws to combat the increasing number of drug smugglers, traffickers, and syndicates in our country through effective law enforcement and successful prosecution."

"Despite the ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, traffickers, smugglers, and syndicates are still emboldened to continue their illicit activities here in our country," the resolution read.