Law enforcement authorities are now finding themselves victims of their own success in the war they waged against the illegal drug trade.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Bohol is having a harder time in going after suspects involved in the narcotics trade as suspects grew more cautious, said PDEA agent Nicholas Gomez.
According to Gomez, the successive arrests made against drug personalities since 2016 have driven suspects to go into hiding and to operate more cautiously.
Gomez said that the infrequent sighting of known drug personalities has not been indicative of the eradication of their illegal operations.
“Kining mga mangduwaay karon naa na jud silay kahadlok, labi na nga nabalik na pod ang PNP so dili na jud ni sila basta-basta manglihok maong kinahanglan jud ni silang panid-an ug mayo,” Gomez said.
The PDEA has been preoccupied in conducting case build-up and verifying reports on the activities and whereabouts of suspects through contributed and gathered information.
According to Gomez, the PDEA is also looking into possible drug protectors and large suppliers in the province of Bohol.
In December last year, the Philippine National Police was redeployed by President Duterte as part of forces battling illegal drug trade in the country after a months-long hiatus.
The PDEA however remained as the government’s lead agency tasked to go after the country’s drug personalities. (A. Doydora)