PNP eyes elite anti-drug unit
Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa is eyeing the formation of an elite unit similar to the Search Bloc of the National Police of Colombia on drug traffickers.
This was one of Colombia’s "best practices" which Dela Rosa intends to do in the government's war on drugs, now on its third month.
Aside from the police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, Dela Rosa wants a separate special operations unit against suspected drug lords and its cartels.
"You drug lords better leave because I will form a unit more deadly than the Search Bloc of Colombia," Dela Rosa said during an interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Monday.
The Search Bloc was the name of three different police units of Colombia. The original unit was created in 1992 with the objective of arresting drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.
The bloc is credited for dismantling several drug cartels in Colombia, a nation also facing a drug problem.
He lauded the wiretapping law of Colombia where authorities can wiretap all alleged members of suspected criminals, monitoring their movements and activities. This is n why the Colombian government is successful in its anti-drug campaign.
The PNP chief is planning to seek the support of President Rodrigo Duterte to have bills on wiretapping marked as urgent before Congress.
Another best practice of Colombia is that its government has the power to forfeit assets of suspected criminals. "Their law on forfeiture of properties is strong that's why it's effective, " said Dela Rosa.
The only problem for Colombia is they don't have enough rehabilitation facilities to accommodate drug surrenderees just like the Philippines where 722,743 have surrendered since July. Emmanuel Tupas
