Police Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), instructed on Monday, June 21, all police anti-narcotics unit commanders to exercise effective supervision of their men in the conduct of anti-drugs operations as the operational guideline of coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is expected to be completed at the end of this month.

Eleazar explained that he expects his men to strictly abide by the PDEA-PNP unified operational guidelines in order to prevent misencounters similar to what happened in Quezon City twice, one of them led to the death of PNP personnel and a PDEA agent.

“Once these unified operating guidelines are finalized and released to our men on the ground, I need the efficient supervision by our ground commanders to ensure that the rules are strictly followed by our operatives," said Eleazar.

According to PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva, the PDEA-PNP unified operational guidelines could be completed before the end of the month.

Uniform guidelines were created following the February 24 fatal shootout between PNP and PDEA operatives at a mall along Commonwealth, Quezon City. An almost misencounter also transpired in Fairview in May, which highlighted the need for the two agency’s leadership to finally address the issue.

“This way, our law enforcement agencies would be more effective and efficient in carrying out their operations toward the eventual eradication of the country’s illegal drug trade," said Eleazar.

We will immediately disseminate these for the immediate compliance of our operating units. I am directing police commanders to make sure that their personnel are well-briefed on these guidelines, once issued,” Eleazar said.