COMMON FIGHT. Gov. Lilia "Nanay Baby" Pineda and retired police general Jose Gutierrez, Jr., head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, discuss areas of cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking during a recent meeting at the Holiday-Inn. Photo by Bong Lacson
CLARK FREEPORT – The Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has sought the assistance of Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pineda in preventing big-time drug pushers from using the international airport here as trans-shipment point.
Retired police general Jose “Sonny” Gutierrez, PDEA director general, met with Pineda at the Holiday Inn here on Friday to discuss how the provincial government could help the anti-drugs agency in stopping drug pushers from using the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) as exit and entry points for illegal drugs .
The meeting was also attended by Clark Development Corp. (CDC) officials led by Atty. Resty Capulong.
Pineda said she will sponsor the repair of their office set in Clark earlier this year. She will also provide a vehicle to make the “PDEA police more mobile.”
“We are willing to help in order to save the people, especially the young men and women, from the ill-effects of illegal drugs,” said Pineda in the dialect.
For his part, CIAC President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano said in a text message: “Yes, CIAC fully supports the move and will enjoin everyone in the organization to extend fullest cooperation.”
“CIAC entered into a close cooperation with PDEA by providing facilities in the Clark Airport Terminal as well as housing for its operatives, and will commit necessary resources to make the Aviation Complex drug-free and prevent syndicates from making it a transshipment point,” he added in a text message.
PDEA officials reported to Pineda that DMIA had been used as transshipment point for illegal drugs in the past.
