PDEA: Killing of PDEA agent in CamSur might be work-related

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) condemned on Wednesday the killing of one of its agents whose body was found in a canal in Camarines Sur, noting that the motive for the crime might be related to his profession.

“We are not discounting the possibility that the killing of Agent Barba is job-related. He may have been set up by drug syndicates who have been affected by our aggressive anti-drug operations,” PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said in a statement.

Before he went missing, the 40-year-old victim Intelligence Officer II Enrico Barba informed his team leader that he would meet a confidential informant for a planned anti-drug operation, according to PDEA.

A day after authorities lost connection with Barba, he was found dead in Lupi, Camarines Sur. His hands and mouth were covered with packaging tape.

"We believe that this is a planned act with an intent to demoralize our agents, as the illegal drugs syndicates try to shake our core. But we strongly defy the threat and we strongly condemn this violence against our agents," Aquino said.

Flags were put at half-mast at the PDEA National Headquarters in Quezon City as well as in its regional offices as an expression of grief over the agent's death. —Dona Magsino/ LDF, GMA News