CEBU CITY – The new regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Central Visayas (PDEA-7) vowed to sustain the gains that his predecessor achieved in the fight against illegal drugs.
TABLATE
Alex Tablate said that when he replaced Emerson Margate, the PDEA-7 performed well and was even No. 1 in the entire country. “It means they have a good program and it was implemented well,” said Tablate.
Tablate said he will continue to implement the programs that Margate started and work closely with various counterparts such as the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas and local government units.
He admitted that the proliferation of illegal drugs remains a problem in Central Visayas as it is considered as a “super region” with highly urbanized cities such as Cebu.
Tablate said the PDEA-7 is gearing up for next year’s elections.
He said some individuals may provide information to PDEA-7 linking candidates to illegal drug activities.
Tablate assured that all information will be thoroughly validated to make sure that those innocent ones will not be wrongly accused.
He said it is possible that some may provide them fabricated information to advance their political agenda.
“On the part of PDEA, we will be very careful. I believe it will still be the Philippine National Police which will take the lead when it comes to politics. As much as possible, we won’t be dealing so much on that right now but we will focus more on our task which is supply reduction and anti-illegal drug operations," said Tablate.
Tablate did not confirm if they have received information about politicians who are into illegal drugs.
He said the public has a crucial role in the fight against illegal drugs by choosing candidates who are not into illegal drugs or other illegal activities.