Short answer. The PDEA is empowered to arrest and apprehend violators, search them, and seize or confiscate the effects or proceeds of the crime, taking custody of what is seized. Its prosecutors and enforcement agents are also authorized to possess firearms in accordance with existing laws.
What the law says
Arrest and apprehend as well as search all violators and seize or confiscate, the effects or proceeds of the crimes as provided by law and take custody thereof, for this purpose the prosecutors and enforcement agents are authorized to possess firearms, in accordance with existing laws
RA 9165, Section 84 — Powers And Duties Of The PDEA. Read the full provision →
The core operational power: arrest, search, and seizure
The provision directly relevant to a drug operation authorizes the PDEA to arrest and apprehend as well as search all violators, and to seize or confiscate the effects or proceeds of the crimes as provided by law, then take custody thereof. This is the operational core of the agency's power in the field — apprehending suspects, searching them, and taking possession of drugs and related property connected to the offense, all as provided by existing law rather than at the agent's unchecked discretion.
Firearms authority tied specifically to this function
The same provision ties a firearms authorization directly to this arrest-and-seizure power: for this purpose the prosecutors and enforcement agents are authorized to possess firearms, in accordance with existing laws. The authorization is framed as connected to carrying out arrests, searches, and seizures, and it is still bounded by existing laws governing firearm possession generally, not an unlimited grant.
Investigative tools that support an operation
Beyond the arrest itself, the PDEA is empowered to administer oath, issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum relative to investigating violations of the Act. These tools let the agency gather sworn testimony and demand documents connected to a case, extending its authority beyond the moment of arrest into building the investigation that follows it toward prosecution.
This investigative authority operates alongside, not instead of, the arrest-and-seizure power, and both are exercised in service of building the same underlying case against the accused for its eventual prosecution before the proper court.
Most of the agency's other powers are institutional, not operational
The statute lists a long series of additional PDEA functions — running forensic laboratories, coordinating national campaigns, maintaining intelligence systems, submitting reports, and more — that describe the agency's institutional role rather than what an individual agent does during a specific operation. The arrest, search, seizure, and investigative powers described above are what actually govern an agent's conduct in the field, as opposed to the agency's broader administrative mandate.