Dragon Defender

The call came on my cell phone around four o’clock in the afternoon. I had just risen from my nap and quickly answered it. It was Reggie (not his real name), an operative of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). I knew immediately that there was something going on. He immediately gave the description of an unmarked car that was to pick me up at a shop near my house in about 30 minutes.
I recalled the first time I met the guy while I gathered up my gear. It was less than a year earlier in Naga City and during another drug-sting-operation. I was thrilled for having been chosen to cover another undertaking by the said agency. After checking if I had everything I needed, I proceeded to the rendezvous and got the ride after a 15-minute wait.

After another 20 minutes, we arrived at a village on the outskirts of Ligao City. The throng of onlookers by the road made me suspect at first that the mission was over, not yet anyway. Reggie met me at the entrance to a dusty side road and cleared me through the cops guarding the perimeter.
A few meters away, a man being frisked came into view. I found out that the suspect and his wife were the targets of a search warrant. To make sure that they got their marks, the agents earlier conducted a ‘buy-bust’ exercise and were able to collar the husband selling a couple of sachets containing shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) to a poseur-buyer. Amazingly the pregnant wife and the six small children were able to escape. It was believed that they were being cuddled by sympathetic neighbors or relatives nearby. Unfortunately, the warrant only covered one house and nothing more.

This is just one of the daily routines of PDEA agents in their continuing battle to rid the Philippines of illegal drugs. By allowing members of the media to be embedded in their activities, they are sending a message that their job is not that easy as others may think. It is tiring, dangerous and most of the time frustrating.

I never fully understood what they meant by ‘frustrating’ as the drugs they recovered were substantial enough to build a formidable case in court. Later, a source whispered to me that the agents believe that there is a possibility that the suspect was being protected by one of their own. At that moment I knew that I had a real story on my hands.

(AUTHR'S NOTE: This is just a prelude to a formal article about to be written. How soon it will be finished will depend on how soon the critical facts are gathered and properly documented. All photos courtesy of PDEA)