President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Saturday ordered anti-illegal drug agencies to go after drug syndicates and make sure that narco-politics couldn't influence the outcome of the May 2010 elections, the presidential palace said. Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Arroyo called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to pursue drug smugglers “relentlessly” and “neutralize” their operations. “Narco-politics is very dangerous and very alarming. That is why we have to know the real situation of the drug problem here in our country because if we failed to address that, the results of the elections might be influenced by this drug cartel,” Bello said during a radio interview. “We have to protect our children and the youth, otherwise we are putting (their future) in jeopardy,” he added. Bello said Arroyo will discuss the drug problem on Dec. 29 in her final meeting with her Cabinet this year in Baguio City. He said PDEA director general Dionisio Santiago will report to Arroyo about the recovery of a huge stockpile of cocaine worth $7.5 million (P354 million) in Eastern Samar recently.
