BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
P/Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda, the newly-installed regional police director of Western Visayas, yesterday vowed a relentless anti-drug campaign, and tasked regional and provincial police to go after High Value Individual drug personalities.
Miranda, in his acceptance speech during the turnover of command ceremony at the Police Regional Office 6 at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City, also ordered the municipal and city police stations to focus on Street Level Individual drug personalities in their areas.
He said the campaign against illegal drugs will be done in close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, National Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies, to address the problem and menace brought about by illegal drugs in Western Visayas.
NOT JUST PNP
This is not just a PNP problem, this is a shared responsibility, Miranda stressed.
Under the stewardship of P/Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan as PRO 6 director for one year and six months, the PNP reported that 3,131 drug personalities were arrested that led to the confiscation of more than 18.76 kilograms of shabu and 8.7 kilograms of marijuana, with a market value of P165 million.
Regional police spokesperson, Lt. Col. Joem Malong, said 3,115 of the 4,015 barangays in Western Visayas, or 78.38 percent, were declared drug cleared, also during the period.
Miranda, who used to be the chief of the directorial staff of the defunct Negros Island Region Police Office in 2017, also announced that he will conduct regular drug testing among PRO 6 personnel to ensure that nobody among them is hooked on illegal drugs.
He also said that proper vetting process will be initiated in the selection of operatives to be included in the drug enforcement units, to ensure integrity, in coordination with PDEA and the intelligence community.
CHANGE OF COMMAND
The change in command ceremony between Miranda and Pamuspusan, who is up for transfer at the PNP Directorate for Plans at Camp Crame, was presided over by PNP deputy chief for operations, Lt. Gen. Hawthorne Caesar Binag, who used to serve as PRO 6 director. Miranda said he will also conduct a vigorous and sustained campaign against internal cleansing, illegal gambling, corruption, and other anti-criminality operations.*
