In a press conference held in San Juan, PDEA Director Anselmo Avenido said the country is not considered a major exporter of illegal drugs.

He said there are four major kinds of narcotics in the world – cocaine, heroin, marijuana and synthetic drugs. He said the Philippines does not supply any of these drugs to other countries.

He said despite limited resources, the country’s law enforcement efforts are considered effective. "The government continues to support efforts to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs," he said.

On reports pointing to the Philippines as a transshipment point of drugs and exporter of drugs, Avenido admitted that some areas of the country have been used for this purpose.

Based on the amount of drugs seized in raids on drug laboratories all over the country, he noted that the capacity of the raided drug laboratories far exceeded the estimated drug consumption in the country.

Meanwhile, the PDEA is preparing to become a full-fledged agency in July next year when it will become the only government unit mandated to conduct anti-drug operations.

According to the revised anti-drug law, PDEA will become the only agency authorized to conduct anti-drug operations starting July next year.

"Law enforcement agencies like the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Customs and others performing such functions can no longer conduct anti-drug operations on their own," Avenido said.

The PDEA recently drew praise from Sen. Aquilino Pimentel who vowed to support the agency in its fight against illegal drugs.

Pimentel said that despite the scarcity of resources, the PDEA made a "reasonable performance under present circumstances."