TACLOBAN CITY - The military in Samar is continuing its monitoring and gathering of information in recovering the cache of cocaine bricks dumped in the seas here and which drifted to Samar's eastern shores late last year, a military commander told reporters in an interview with local reporters. Colonel Alex Albano, 801st Brigade Commander, of the 8th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, told reporters during a meeting in his headquarters at Camp Daza in Brgy. Fatima, Hinabangan town, Samar, that his command is continuing its monitoring activities and collecting data which would lead his men in recovering whatever remains of the massive supply of cocaine that drifted ashore in Samar Island in December, 2009. Albano, who was in the city for official business, added that his command has strengthened its intelligence operations even as it has maintained its established links with the local
government and other concerned groups in the area for such drug recovery efforts. Albano disclosed that the 14th Infantry Battalion, one of the battalions under his brigade which is under the command of Lt. Col. Hermilo Dimafiles based in Oras, Eastern Samar, is closely coordinating with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Office Number 8 (PDEA-8) and the Philippine National Police Regional Office Number 8 (PNP-8) in said recovery operations. Such statements made by Albano's were in response to media's question whether or not the army in Samar, particularly his command, is still continuing its operations in recovering the cache of cocaine that reported still exists on the island.
