Grandma, 5 others nabbed for drugs

Six drug personalities, including a 60-year-old grandmother, were arrested Wednesday noon in two separate anti-illegal drug operations in Mananga 1, Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City.

The police operation also resulted in the seizure of P91,850 worth of drugs.

Personnel of the Talisay City Police Station’s Drug Enforcement Unit conducted a buy-bust operation against Letecia Quiñones, 60, a resident of the said village.

At least 20 small packs of shabu worth P12,390 were recovered from Quiñones.

Police also arrested Ely Cabusas, 48, and Dionisio Cadilig, 46, both residents of Tungkop in Minglanilla town; Philip James Labao, 19, and Joseph Labao, both residents of Inayagan, Naga City, who were allegedly caught in the act of sniffing shabu inside Quiñones’ property.

Seven small packs of shabu worth P6,300 and several drug paraphernalia were seized from the four suspects.

Three hours after the arrest of the five suspects, the city police conducted another buy-bust operation in the same barangay, resulting in the arrest of Julius Deiparine,34.

Deiparine was yielded 12 small packs of shabu worth P73,160.

All six suspects are currently detained at the city police station detention cell pending the filing of drug charges against them.

DRUG REHAB CENTER

Meanwhile, street-level drug pushers will be given a chance to reform their lives through “Balay Silangan,” a communitybased reformation center.

The intervention program was introduced by the newly-installed Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7 Director Wardley Getalla.

He said the program is meant to help small-time drug pushers in Central Visayas with no pending criminal cases and arrest warrant to change their lives for the better.

“Ito nagbibigay ng pagkakataon sa mga drug pushers na ma-reform sila at maicorrect ang kanilang negative attitude and behavior at siyempre integration pabalik sa community susuportahan sila ng programa,” said Getalla.

Those drug pushers who are under probations and even those who were acquitted of the drug cases are also welcome to Balay Silangan, which is set to operate anytime.

Getalla, who paid a courtesy call on Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, said PDEA-7 will launch two or three Balay Silangan centers in the city.

Getalla said the centers will help complement the existing community-based drug rehabilitation programs, including Cebu City’s out-patient rehabilitation program for drug dependents.

Osmeña, for his part, vowed to support plans and programs of Getalla, who replaced Emerson Margate as PDEA-7 director.

Getalla was the former director of PDEA–Western Visayas but was reassigned to Central Visayas last August 1 after the agency’s national office ordered the swapping of their officers in both regions.

Moreover, Getalla called on other city and municipal mayors to support PDEA-7’s Balay Silangan program.

He targets to establish the center in each town and city all over the region.

“Mananawagan tayo sa mga city mayors, municipal mayors na suportahan itong programa. Makipag-meeting tayo sa mga municipal and city mayors. Kailangan bawat city and municipality ay makapagestablish tayo ng balay silangan para magkaroon tayo ng intervention program sa mga drug pushers para mabigyan natin sila ng chance na magbago,” he said. —

Ermida Q. Moradas and USJ-R intern Marenyl M. Bolhano/KBQ