By Fernan Angeles
THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will continue to brave new challenges and beat greater odds as the country’s lead agency against illegal drugs, said PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva as the drug enforcement agency celebrates its 18th anniversary.
“This year marks a turning point for PDEA as we continue to thrive through adversity, stay motivated, and rise up even if the odds are not in our favor, especially in these pandemic times,” Villanueva said.
As a matter of tradition, PDEA also honored its men and women who have demonstrated exceptional service beyond the call of duty. A raffle draw was also simultaneously held with PDEA Regional Offices across the country.
Likewise, the anniversary program featured an audio-visual presentation which showcased the significant accomplishments of the Director General during his first 100 days in office.
Under his watch, Director General Villanueva made the following initiatives amid the pandemic:
• Issued a marching guidance to aggressively implement the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP)
• Launched “Barangay PDEA Facebook Page”- a platform to communicate real stories of the implementation of the BDCP, and encourage more support from the public and stakeholders
• Prioritized the welfare of agency’s personnel and the safety of the operatives while in the line of duty, and prudent utilization of resources
• Strengthened collaboration with other law enforcement agencies
• Provided Isolation area for newly arrested drug personalities to protect operatives and personnel from COVID-19 exposure
• Notable seizure of large volume of illegal drugs and arrests of drug personalities in high-impact anti-drug drug operations
• Initiated the use of inventory marker to preserve the integrity of PDEA handling seized evidence;
• Launched the FB page “Isumbong mo kay Wilkins”, to encourage participation of the people in the anti-drug campaign by reporting illegal drug activities- a timely initiative for the public to be involved despite under quarantine
• Signed Memorandum of Agreements with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to end smuggling of illegal drugs, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to effectively implement criminal and civil forfeiture of laundered money believed to be proceeds of illegal drug activities.
“I will never fail the President, the country and the people for the trust to lead the agency as the war on drugs continues despite the odds,” the PDEA chief said.