Margate: Some ports have no records

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Region VI (PDEA-6) director Emerson Margate called private ports “stumbling blocks” in the campaign against illegal drugs because they are hard to monitor.

“There are many private ports we cannot account for because they do not have any records,” he explained.

The PDEA-6 official also indicated some ports have no record of who is manning the area.

Margate, who was in Bacolod City for the groundbreaking of a P35-million rehabilitation center, earlier proposed local government units establish a monitoring body to include private port inspection. However, he said there is currently no law giving localities the authority to inspect private ports.

He said it may be possible through a locally-ratified ordinance.

Margate suggested illegal drugs are smuggled in through Zamboanga City and transported to Dumaguete City, where they are then transported by land. He added, pump boats can also be used to transport illegal substances.

Meanwhile, Margate also said K-9 units are very important in the campaign against illegal drugs considering some ports lack x-ray machines./DGB, WDJ