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Manila Bulletin devider devider Lawmaker stresses need for seaborne anti-drug patrol unit

Lawmaker stresses need for seaborne anti-drug patrol unit

Published Mar 9, 2018 06:30 pm

By Ellson Quismorio

A ranking House of Representatives official today renewed his call for the creation of a composite seaborne law enforcement unit that can patrol the country’s maritime borders and shorelines following President Duterte’s statement that cocaine is being smuggled into the country at a fast pace.

Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (YouTube / MANILA BULLETIN) Rep. Robert Ace Barbers
(YouTube / MANILA BULLETIN) Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said that based on the results of the panel's February 28 public hearing, the Philippines has become a  transshipment point for illegal drugs due to its porous borders and vast coastlines. He said drug smugglers resort to dumping their contraband overboard to avoid detection by law enforcers. "We’ve been assuming that the containers of cocaine found in our shorelines were not intended for the Philippines because we are not a cocaine-consuming country,” Barbers noted. “What if these drug syndicates are trying to infiltrate the shabu market by lowering the price of cocaine? This could all be a strategic game changer with a long-term impact," he stressed.

Shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride is often called "poor man's cocaine."

“If that’s the case, then the drug market in the country may be shifting from shabu to cocaine—considering that a gram of cocaine now costs less than a gram of shabu," he said.

Street prices of illegal drugs in this country have reportedly soared after President Duterte launched his no-nonsense antinarcotics campaign nearly two years ago when he assumed the Palace seat.

Barbers said that at present, the government has no way of determining how many successful cocaine deliveries have been made on the country's shores, as well as who or what drug syndicates or cartels were responsible.

The Mindanao congressman has been pushing for the creation of a composite unit composed of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other law enforcement agencies to patrol the coastlines. "We must equip our antidrug agencies with new skills and innovations like appropriating funds for the acquisition of modern surveillance and tracking system," Barbers said. "We should find ways to resolve this problem before the country gains notoriety for being a top drug transshipment point in Asia," he added
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