Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 Source: People's Journal (Philippines) Copyright: 2004 People's Journal Contact: http://www.journal.com.ph/contactus.asp Website: http://www.journal.com.ph/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3381 NO LETUP IN DRUG WAR No quarter will be given to criminal syndicates involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs. This was the statement yesterday of Police Deputy Director General Edgardo B. Aglipay in reaction to a recent United Nations report that said the Philippines is among the top three sources of shabu in the world, after Myanmar (formerly Burma) and China. Aglipay, who is concurrently head of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force of the Philippine National Police, said that the UN report, instead of putting the country in a bad light, should be seen in the context of the government's success drive against drug trafficking syndicates. Last week, Aglipay's men raided a shabu warehouse in Villa Liwayway Subdivision, Maysan, Valenzuela City. The law enforcers found 147 drums of assorted chemicals used in the manufacture of shabu, two high-capacity driers and other shabu-processing equipment. The facility could have easily produced as much as 30,000 kilos of shabu had its operations not been dismantled by the raid, according to the police. The raid is only the latest in a string of successes racked up by the PNP-AIDSOTF. Last year, according to an official PNP report, law enforcers dismantled a total of 22 shabu laboratories and warehouses and confiscated drugs and paraphernalia amounting to P13.6 billion. The report added that Aglipay's task force neutralized 21 of 163 identified drug syndicates, and arrested a total of 50,000 persons, with 34,000 cases already filed in court. Among those arrested were 43 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in the manufacture and trafficking of illegal drugs, mainly shabu. Because of the success of Aglipay's war on illegal drugs, he is believed to be in the running for the top PNP post now occupied by Police Director General Hermogenes E. Ebdane Jr. who is set to retire in December. Speculation is rife that Ebdane may be moved to another government post even earlier than December. Aglipay is due for retirement in September. But if President Macapagal-Arroyo exercises her prerogative and decides to name him as PNP chief on the basis of his accomplishments in the anti-drug campaign, he could be asked to stay on even after the compulsory retirement age so he could lead the intensified war against the drug menace in the country, sources said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin