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[av_heading heading=’Drug war not ending soon – Bacolod police’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
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Monday, March 13, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Police do not see the war against illegal drugs ending anytime soon.
Many suspects who vowed not to reengage in the trade were back selling illegal drugs, and traffickers were exploiting entrance and exit points in Negros Island Region, according to the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO).
Thirty suspects were arrested in buy-bust operations in just six days (from March 6 to 11) as part of Oplan Double Barrel Alpha Reloaded, said Superintendent Noel Polines, chief of the BCPO Operations and Plans Unit.
The operation plan is the renewed antidrug campaign of the Philippine National Police —launched about a month after its engagement was suspended in light of controversies involving corrupt officers.
Some 49 plastic packs of suspected shabu worth around P7,820 were recovered during 14 operations staged during the period.
Commanders of every police station — the BCPO has 10 — were directed to conduct at least one drug operation per week, said Polines.
Most of those arrested were drug personalities who surrendered during Oplan Double Barrel, launched in July 2016, but went back to the trade when the original police-led campaign was suspended, he said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is now spearheading all antidrug operations.
Polines clarified that all their operations are in coordination with the PDEA.
Charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 have been filed against those arrested, he said.
But illegal drugs continue to exist in Bacolod City no matter the magnitude of Oplan Double Barrel or Double Barrel Reloaded, Polines said, adding that they do not believe there is scarcity in supply.
Negros Occidental has a lot of entrance and exit points — including a “backdoor” in the south — through which drug supply passes, he said.
Polines said they believe the supply comes from Mindanao and the nearby Cebu and Iloilo provinces.
Citing intelligence reports, Chief Superintendent Renato Gumban, regional police director, earlier said shabu from Cebu enters Negros via San Carlos City and Dumaguete City, and those from Iloilo City or Dumangas town in Iloilo province via Bacolod City.
Ricky Serenio, the No. 1 drug suspect in the region and a member of the notorious Berya drug group, also claimed earlier that shabu is being smuggled into Negros Occidental via the San Carlos City port.
Stuffed in truck tires, the prohibited substance also known as methamphetamine hydrochloride comes from Toledo City in Cebu province, Serenio had said.
BCPO records show that 100 percent of barangays in this capital city are drug-affected.
Police officers and barangay officials continue to face a challenge: exert more effort in clearing villages — and, eventually, the entire city — of illegal drugs, Polines said./PN
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