THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) has released guidelines on what targets to prioritize in 2012 to its Luzon-based regional offices.

The priority targets were discussed recently during the two-day intelligence workshop for Luzon-based Pdea regional directors and their intelligence officers in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Pdea Director General Jose Gutierrez Jr. said the two-day workshop aims to generate an updated agency list of active drug groups and personalities operating in Luzon.

Existing data maintained by each regional office were evaluated to help the agency’s operating units determine priority targets in their respective jurisdictions.

“Target setting provides our operatives with sound direction instead of conducting random antidrug operations,” Gutierrez said.

Pdea regional directors and their intelligence officers from the Ilocos region (Region 1), Cagayan Province (Region 2), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Mimaropa (Region 4B) and the Bicol region (Region 5) attended the two-day intelligence workshop which, Gutierrez said, will be replicated in the Visayas and Mindanao regions within the month.

During the workshop, Gutierrez also directed the Luzon-based Pdea regional directors to give priority to the implementation of case operation plan and in neutralizing high-value and high-impact targets to significantly reduce the supply and disrupt the illegal drug cycle.

“We expect to be able to have a complete and updated Pdea list of drug groups and personalities nationwide once we have consolidated all the outputs from all the intelligence workshops conducted in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. This is in preparation for the projected intelligence workshop with counterparts in the National Police before the year ends,” Gutierrez said.