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| Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) |
By Audrey Morallo
MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will now be involved in the government’s “renewed” war on illegal drugs after it signed an agreement making it the campaign’s “force provider.”
In a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the AFP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the former would function as the force provider while the latter will act as the force employer as the government prepares to restart its campaign against illegal narcotics.
This move on the part of the military, however, could force the United States to suspend military aid to the Philippines, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The government’s campaign against illegal drugs was ended following embarrassing revelations that anti-drug policemen kidnapped and killed a Korean businessman inside Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The government then announced that it was launching a different war, one against rogue members of the PNP, long perceived to be among the most corrupt Philippine agencies.
To effectively play this role, the AFP plans to expand the Joint Counterintelligence Task Force (JCTF) NOAH, a unit tasked to conduct drug-related counterintelligence operations.
The military said that NOAH would assist law enforcement agencies in identifying, investigating and neutralizing persons involved in the use, sale, manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs.
Read the full story at PhilStar