Naga a hotbed of shabu? PDEA-Bicol chief says Manila worse

Manila's problem with illegal drugs is worse than that of Naga City, the regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Bicol has said.

Christian Frivaldo, head of the PDEA in Southern Luzon, made the remark after President Rodrigo Duterte referred to Naga as a "hotbed of shabu" in the country.

"Kung iko-compare ko naman sa Maynila, eh 'di mas malala naman ang Maynila," Frivaldo said in Raffy Tima's report on "24 Oras."

"So pareho naman ang challenge ng bawat highly urbanized city na kapag progresibo ayung lugar, e nandyan yung mga magpapasok ng illegal drugs," he added.

Duterte in a speech indicated that Naga had a serious drug problem as he stressed that Vice President Leni Robredo could do nothing to improve the country if she succeeded him.

Robredo hails from Naga and her late husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, was a longtime mayor of the city.

PDEA statistics showed that the drug trade was a problem in 76.98 percent of barangays in Bicol.

In Naga, 15 out of its 27 barangays are affected.

Naga Mayor John Bongat denied that his city was conducive to the proliferation of illegal drugs.

"Pag sinabi kasing hotbed, parang 'yung city is promoting illegal drugs, is not doing anything at all to curb and curtail illegal drugs," Bongat said.

"That's not true," he added. —NB/JST, GMA News