• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Police Regional Office 6 reported that it seized P249 million worth of shabu and marijuana from 1,843 arrested drug personalities, from January to November this year, in its relentless efforts to win the campaign against illegal drugs in Western Visayas.
Of the arrested drug personalities in 1,500 operations conducted, the PRO 6 said that 1,687 of them are drug peddlers, 87 drug users, 46 others classified by the police as both drug pushers and users, three marijuana cultivators and 20 minors.
More than 36 kilos of shabu and seven kilos of marijuana were confiscated, with a total market value of P249 million.
As of December 22, PRO6 also reported that 89.92 percent of the 4,051 Western Visayas has been declared cleared of drugs by the Regional Oversight Committee Deliberation Board (ROCDB), composed of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Health, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine National Police.
Only Guimaras and Aklan provinces recorded 100 percent drug cleared barangays, followed by Antique – 99.66 percent, Iloilo – 98.55 percent, Capiz – 90.91 percent, Negros Occidental – 65.22 percent, Iloilo City – 52.22 percent and Bacolod City – 22.95 percent.
The PRO6 also reported that 25,098 of 39,000 drug surrenderees have completed the Recovery and Wellness Program of the PNP, which is aimed at reforming individuals hooked into illegal drugs.
Stressing that it does not tolerate uniformed personnel who were involved in illegal drug activities, the PRO6 report added that it dismissed 42 police officers from service for the use of illegal drugs, while two others are awaiting the finality of the decision and five are still undergoing summary hearing proceedings.*
