CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—The Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has said Region 10 or Northern Mindanao is the country's new illegal drugs capital.PDEA Dir. Gen. Dionosio Santiago said the agency based this on the worsening drugs problem in the key cities of Ozamis and Iligan and the nearby city of Marawi in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Supt. Glenn Dichosa de la Torre, PDEA director for Northern Mindanao, admitted that big-time drug syndicates have relocated to the region and have been taking advantage of the area's strategic location as distribution center. But he said he has yet to be informed about the region's new status as illegal drugs capital. "The main office may have assessed it based on information from our partners. We do networking with the US government and the Chinese government, who help us in getting important information," De la Torre said. He said that cooperation led to the discovery of two shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) laboratories in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental two years ago. Although the shabu laboratories had been shut down, the operators, who are believed to be Chinese nationals, remain scot-free. Dela Torre said the vast coastlines of Northern Mindanao have also become ideal entry points for smugglers of illegal drugs. He said their limited resources and lack of personnel were among the biggest setbacks to PDEA’s desire to run after big-time drugs syndicates. "It will take time but in our assessment, we will be able to address the problem soon," he said. Dela Torre said aside from shabu, marijuana also continues to be trafficked in the region. He said PDEA and the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) have worked together to lure farmers away from cultivating marijuana by giving them alternative livelihood. "If we don't give them other sources of income, it will just be a vicious cycle," he said. He said under the program, PDEAand the DDB were planning to distribute jathropa seedlings to farmers. | 
