The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will craft operational guidelines and protocols which will be observed by the two agencies to avoid misencounters during the conduct of anti-illegal drug operations.

In a statement Monday, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said this decision was reached during a meeting with PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva over the weekend.

This came after operatives of the Quezon City Police District Station 4 and PDEA agents nearly figured in another incident of apparent miscommunication during a buy-bust operation on May 14.

However, timely communication and courtesy between the two agencies averted a repeat of a shootout between PNP and PDEA agents along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City last February.

“These include more rigid coordination procedures that must clearly indicate the specific areas of operation at the station level in big cities,” Eleazar said.

Eleazar earlier noted that “illegal drug syndicates are taking advantage of the weaknesses or gaps in the rules of procedure on coordination and inter-operations” between the PNP and PDEA.

Eleazar said these lapses will be corrected to avoid further miscommunication among the two agencies.