The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) admitted on Monday that for "street level" anti-drug operations, its agents might not always be present.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, PDEA Director and spokesman Derrick Carreon said the presence of a PDEA agent is required when there is a joint operation with the Philippine National Police against high value targets.

Due to PDEA's limited number of agents, he said it is the PNP which is attending to street level anti-drug operations.

"But of course, they (police) have also units that attend to high value targets, that's why there is the PNP Drug Enforcement Group and its counterparts in the regional and even the provincial and city level. So when there is a high value target that will be arrested or that means to be operated on, then there will be mandatory PDEA presence in such operations," he explained.

"Well, the street level operations of course, all operations will be coordinated with us, whether it's street level or up to a high value. But again our presence in tandem with the police operatives will be for the high value targets and the high impact operations...it doesn't necessarily follow (that PDEA is there in the street level) because our presence is only up to provincial, we're at skeletal up to provincial offices and full compliment on regional offices," he added.

PDEA has about 2,000 agents as compared to 170,000-strong PNP.

Duterte has issued an order allowing PDEA to be the lead agency in all anti-drug operations following criticisms on his bloody war against illegal drugs.

During the time that Duterte briefly asked PNP not to meddle in the anti-drug operations last year and ordered PDEA to be the sole and lead agency, only two drug suspects were killed in operations.

According to the government data, 3,987 drug personalities died in the anti-drug operations mostly by the police shortly after Duterte assumed office in June 2016.

Asked why PDEA anti-drug operations seemed to have less deaths, Carreon said when they conduct operations, they invite media and prosecutors and their agents also wear body cameras to be more transparent.

"And I believe same move is also being done with our counterparts in the PNP now with resumption of their operations," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS