Even as he directed other law enforcement agencies to keep off the anti-illegal drug campaign, President Rodrigo Duterte is aware at the back of his mind that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), to which he has entrusted the sole mandate to execute the war on drugs, has serious shortage issues to deal with, especially in terms of manpower and resources.
President Duterte transferred the anti drug portfolio to PDEA in an effort to silence critics over their misgivings that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has not been handling the job properly in the light of so many questionable killings that have given the campaign a bad light on human rights issues.
Duterte ordered the military and the police “out of the picture.”
But, at the same time, the President wondered aloud, “would there be enough resources for this agency to deal with the problem effectively. I don’t know.”
PDEA has only about 2,000 personnel, and only half of these are field agents.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino has declared that his agency would need more personnel and a budget estimated at PhP5 billion to equip itself for effectively carrying out this marching order from President Duterte.