Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA, /piːˈdeɪə/; Filipino: Ahensiya ng Pilipinas sa Pagpapatupad ng Batas Laban sa Bawal na Gamot) is the lead anti-drug law enforcement agency, responsible for preventing, investigating and combating any dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals within the Philippines. The agency is tasked with the enforcement of the penal and regulatory provisions of Republic Act No. 9165 (R.A. 9165), otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
PDEA is the implementing arm of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB). The DDB is the policy-making and strategy-formulating body in the planning and formulation of policies and programs on drug prevention and control. PDEA and DDB are both under the supervision of the Office of the President of the Philippines.
For thirty years, the Republic Act No. 6425, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, had been the backbone of the drug law enforcement system in the Philippines. Despite the efforts of various law enforcement agencies mandated to implement the law, the drug problem alarmingly escalated with orbiting Police Officers collecting drug money. The high profitability of the illegal drug trade, compounded by the then existing laws that imposed relatively light penalties to offenders, greatly contributed to the gravity of the problem.
Recognizing the need to further strengthen existing laws governing Philippine drug law enforcement system, the then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, on June 7, 2002, and it took effect on July 4, 2002. The R.A. 9165 defines more concrete courses of action for the national anti-drug campaign and imposes heavier penalties to offenders.
The enactment of R.A. 9165 reorganized the Philippine drug law enforcement system. While the Dangerous Drugs Board remains as the policy-making and strategy-formulating body in planning and formulation of policies and program on drug control and prevention, it created the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency under the Office of the President.
The R.A. 9165 abolished the National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center, which was created under Executive Order No. 61, and the Narcotics Group of Philippine National Police (PNP-NG), Narcotics Division of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-ND), and the Customs Narcotics Interdiction Unit of the Bureau of Customs (BOC-CNIU).
Under Executive Order No.206 dated May 15, 2003, these law enforcement agencies have organized the following anti-illegal drugs task force to support the PDEA:
PDEA is headed by a Director General (DG) with the Cabinet rank of Undersecretary, who is responsible for the general administration and management of the agency. The Director General is assisted by two Deputies Director General with the rank of Assistant Secretary: one for Administration (DDGA) and the other one for Operations (DDGO).
The office of the Director General is also supported by the Secretary for Directorial Staff, Chief of Public Information Office (PIO), Chief of Information Technology Systems Management Office (ITSMO) and Chief of Chemical Audit and Management Unit (CAMU).
The Director General of the PDEA shall be responsible for the necessary changes in the organizational set-up which shall be submitted to the DDB for approval.
The PDEA have established 17 Regional Offices headed by Directors in the different regions of the country which is responsible for the implementation of RA 9165 and the policies, programs, and projects of the agency in different regions.
PDEA maintains its own PDEA Academy temporarily located at Camp General Mariano N. Castañeda in Silang, Cavite. The PDEA Academy is headed by a superintendent, with the rank of director. It is responsible in the recruitment and training of all PDEA agents and personnel. The PDEA Academy formulates programs of instructions on basic and specialized anti-drug training courses as well as career courses for all PDEA Agents and Personnel.
The DDB provide for the qualifications and requirements of its recruits who must be at least 21 years old, of proven integrity and honesty, a Baccalaureate degree holder and with Career Service Professional Eligibility from Civil Service Commission (CSC) or Board License from Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
The Director General of the PDEA shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines with the rank of Undersecretary and shall perform such other duties that may be assigned to him/her. He/she must possess adequate knowledge, training and experience in the field of dangerous drugs, and in any of the following fields: law enforcement, law, medicine, criminology, psychology or social work.
This table lists all PDEA Directors General, their dates of service, and under which administration they served.
PDEA Agents are issued with the following firearms:
The United States assists Philippine counternarcotics efforts with training, intelligence gathering, and infrastructure development. In 2005, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF-W) began to develop a network of drug information fusion centers in the Philippines. The primary facility, the Interagency Counternarcotics Operations Network (ICON) is located at PDEA National Headquarters in Quezon City. The ICON is a coordinating body that serves as a center for information and intelligence relating to anti-illegal drugs operations. Its mission is to support law enforcement through timely analysis and dissemination of intelligence on the movement of illicit drugs, and coordinate detection, monitoring and interdiction operations. The facilities of ICON are staffed jointly by the PDEA as the lead agency, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
There are three ICON outstations located at the headquarters of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, Zamboanga del Sur (southwestern Mindanao); Coast Guard Station, General Santos (south-central Mindanao); and at Poro Point, San Fernando, La Union (northwestern Luzon). The ICON facility at PDEA Headquarters is used to produce intelligence products and conduct intelligence training for PDEA Agents. The outstations are also currently used as training sites. As PDEA development leads to manpower increases and improved coordination with other law enforcement agencies, the concept of interagency drug intelligence coordination may be realized.