PDEA and PNP to investigate the possible connivance of Human rights groups and drug syndicates

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The Philippine Drug enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) 
will be looking into the claim of the two Cabinet secretaries that drug syndicates may be using human rights groups to destabilize President Duterte administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

During the press briefing in Malacañang, PDEA Director Derrick Carreon said they will conduct further investigation on the alleged link between personalities behind the human rights organizations and the drug lords.

"This has been a recent finding. So we will coordinate with our counterparts from PNP and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and all other agencies including intelligence agencies kung kailangan,” Carreon said

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano earlier said that human rights groups could be an unwitting tools of drug syndicates to discredit the administration's war on drug.

Malacañang press briefing in | CTTO

“We still have to dig further on this but you can see the attack against the anti-drug campaign while law enforcement agencies like the PDEA and the PNP are making honest efforts on the ground. We’d like to stand by our efforts na kami we are doing our job according to the rule of law,” Carreon said.

He said the PDEA was not immediately linking rights groups to drug syndicates but said they're not dismissing the possibility of connivance.

“You cannot discount the fact na yung kalaban natin sasakayan yung kritisismo laban sa kampanya,” he said.

Carreon also said that the PDEA and other law enforcement agencies were making honest efforts on the ground and “we’re doing our job according to the rule of law.”

"As you can see, as far as PDEA is concerned, even our counterparts from the PNP, we have made adjustments on the ground in order that we would not be criticized negatively in regard to the conduct of such operations,” he said.

“We’ve been transparent. We’ve been inviting media. We invite other stakeholders. We wear body cameras. We allow stakeholders to join us in entering the area para naman po makita nila we have been adjusting as well in order to dispel any notions that operations are conducted with any kind of irregularities,” he added

“But nevertheless any damage to the campaign is of course affects our effort somehow na gusto nilang bahiran ng doubt when in fact adjustments have been made on the ground by our agency, our main counterpart, the PNP, and we would like to stand by the regularity of our operations,” Carreon said.

PNP Spokesman Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao said the police were also validating reports against human rights groups. 

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Source: GMA News