The Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) did not confirm reports made by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that three of 19 drug lords in the region are in the province.

According to BPPO spokesperson Sr. Insp. Vincent Dumaguing, police units are still verifying the veracity of the disclosure made by the PDEA, the lead agency in the government’s war versus drugs.

The BPPO is still awaiting confirmation from the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) which has been tasked to validate reports on the presence of “top level 1” or high-value drug personalities in the province.

Dumaguing also noted that the Philippine National Police and the PDEA have different parameters in classifying drug lords.

He however admitted that street-level pushers sustain drug operations in Bohol, but the BPPO has yet to gather information that would indicate that their sources are also in the province.

Several big-time narcotics distributors had been arrested even before the Duterte administration launched its anti-drug campaign, added Dumaguing.

Earlier this week, PDEA-7 director Yogi Ruiz said that three drug lords, who he classified as those capable of selling at least a kilo of shabu per week, are in Bohol.

Ruiz issued the statement after the arrest of alleged “big-time” drug distributor Marwin Abelgas, a suspected associate of slain drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, on Friday last week in Talisay City. (Rey Tutas)