Angeles City—At least 35 persons were arrested by government anti-narcotics agents during simultaneous raids at Hadrian Extension, a slum area in Barangay Balibago here Friday.
Philipine Drug Enforcement Agency Region 3 director Christian Frivaldo said 16 were nabbed for sniffing shabu while the rest were taken to the PDEA headquarters for further investigation and drug testing.
Frivaldo said the raids were aimed at apprehending the Journale brothers who are in the region’s list of top drug personalities maintaining drug dens in Angeles City.
Louie De Veyra Journale was arrested in his residence while his brothers Santhy and Daniel were able to escape.
Frivaldo said a manhunt has been launched against the two others who escaped the PDEA dragnet.
“Seemingly no intervention had been made by barangay officials that the drug problem reached to this extent. The missing link here is the active participation of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC),” PDEA Director General Wilkerson Villanueva said.
“The absence of illegal drugs rehabilitation center in the area forced us to conduct barangay clearing operations. Tamaan na ang dapat tamaan,” Villanueva said.
Meanwhile, Malacañang backed a Supreme Court circular order for the immediate destruction of illegal drugs seized by government authorities to prevent it from being recycled.
Palace spokesperson Harry Roque welcomed the new order, saying this measure will stop unscrupulous individuals in the police, military or any law enforcement agencies to recycle confiscated drugs.
Under Circular 118-2020 issued on Wednesday, Court Administer Jose Midas Marquez said all regional trial courts have been advised to “strictly comply” with the requirements of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 on the immediate destruction of illegal drugs confiscated.
Marquez said RTC judges are mandated under the Dangerous Drugs Act to conduct inspection of the seized dangerous drugs within 72 hours from the filing of a criminal complaint in court and to issue a destruction order within 24 hours after the ocular inspection.
“It is good because the illegal drugs might fall in the wrong hands. It will be better to destroy them if they are no longer needed,” Roque said.