The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the province which was recently tasked to lead the campaign against narcotics trade is ill-equipped and does not even have its own detention facility to hold drug suspects, said a Bohol PDEA official.

According to PDEA provincial head Ferdinand Kintanar, drug suspects apprehended by the agency are being detained at the Tagbilaran City Police Station or at Camp Dagohoy.

Kintanar said that their office has grown more ill-equipped after it took a bigger role in the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign as it lacks vehicles for operations.

The PDEA’s office in Bohol is also undermanned said Kintanar who also noted that the lack of personnel has hindered the agency from conducting daily anti-drug operations.

Some of the PDEA agents have to attend to other matters after operations such as court hearings on drug cases, he added.

The PDEA agent bared that since the anti-drug operations of the police were suspended, the agency has been averaging two arrests per week.

The latest arrests made by the PDEA was on Wednesday when agents arrested a 17-year-old and his alleged drug supplier in separate buy-bust operations.

Kintanar has relayed the PDEA’s concerns to other agencies which could extend assistance to their agents while the provincial government had also vowed to offer support. (Allen Doydora)