PDEA Was Hogtied By The Previous Administration To Protect Drug Lords - Manny Mejorada

A couple of days ago, President Duterte publicly assigned Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido to Ilolo which he called the bedrock of illegal drugs.

Duterte even made a comment about the last two mayors that died where Espenido was assigned. Which called to the question whether Iloilo's Mayor Jed Mabilog would live once Espenido takes his term there.

Moreover, former provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada does not entirely agree with the assignment of Espenido, according to him the designation somehow sends a signal to police officers that their basis for promotion was their "kill record."

Nonetheless, he posted on Facebook an explanation about why illegal drugs prospered in Iloilo during the former Aquino administration. According to him, big names in politics were key players and protectors of drugs, ultimately making Jed Mabilog, just a small time player in the drug game.

Read the whole post here:

Not too many people know this, but three or four years ago, the Aquino administration started to decapitate the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) by slashing its operating budget.In other words, the PDEA fought with one hand tied behind its back, not even having enough fuel budget to conduct surveillance activities and raids. Its intelligence budgetwas so minuscule that it couldn’t even offer cigarettes to informants.This was the reason the PDEA wasn’t able to fight the drug war on superior terms. It was literally hogtied by the very government that was supposed to direct the war against drugs.
To make matters worse, drug lords enjoyed protection from powerful politicians, many of whom have already been named by President Duterte. The late Melvin “Dragon” Odicta of Iloilo City enjoyed unhampered operations because no less than the Big Man tacitly tolerated his business. It was narco-politics at its worst. The drug groups were protected by the politicians.

The politicians, in turn, enjoyed the armed muscle of the drug lords to silence their critics. I am praying this Big Man will soon be exposed by President Duterte. Jed Patrick Mabilog was just a small player in the scheme of things.

What can you say about the revelation of Manny Mejorada? Doesn't that put to question the loyalty of those who are against the Duterte administration now? Were they somehow showered by the blessings of the anomaly that the previous administration did that's why they are doing everything to stop the current investigation?

Another question that rises to our mind is that, "Who is the Big Man Manny was talking about?" "Will Duterte be able to get him eventually?" and "What would the anti-administration do to defend themselves this time?"

Let's know your answers in the comments below!