Sotto: 'Misencounter' showed need for presidential anti-narcotics body

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday renewed his call for the passage of the measure creating the Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority following Wednesday's shootout between police personnel and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents in Quezon City.

"The misencounter between PDEA and PNP shows the wisdom and ripeness of my bill creating a united Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority," Sotto told reporters in a message.

Under Sotto's measure, the proposed Presidential Drug Enforcement Authority will ensure the proper implementation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and absorb the policymaking and strategy-formulating functions of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

In the process, the proposed agency will abolish the existing PDEA and DDB.

"It places enforcement, prosecution, prevention and rehabilitation all in one super body," Sotto said.

"This fiasco will not be the last if we do not act on this soon," he added.

At least three people were killed in the shootout between police and PDEA agents, which took place at the parking lot of a fast food restaurant along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

Investigators from the Quezon City Police District Station 6 in the Batasan area reported that the policemen conducted a buy-bust operation at the encounter site "with complete coordination and necessary papers."

QCPD officers later learned that they were transacting with PDEA agents, the investigation report indicated.

"Allegedly during the confrontation, PDEA agents first engaged to shoot towards the PNP personnel leaving no option [for the policemen] to fight back against them resulting in a series of injuries to both parties," the report said.

Authorities are already looking into the alleged "misencounter" as both parties are claiming they are performing legitimate anti-drug operations.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, in a separate interview, called on the board of inquiry created to investigate the incident to get to the bottom of the so-called "misencounter."

She also offered condolences to the family of the individuals who were killed during the incident.

"In the end, the Board of Inquiry will have to tell the public the full and true story as the can discover it, including nasaan yung legitimate drug operation, or nasaan yung bina-buy bust operation, sino sila," Hontiveros said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

"All those details just to put the public's mind and heart at rest about the very dramatic, traumatic misencounter that happened last night," she added. —LBG, GMA News