Surigao solon warns return of drug trade

SURIGAO del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has warned the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the return of drug trade while the country is placed under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“The drug trade will return with vengeance after hibernating for almost three months. Our police should be more vigilant and monitor strictly the movement of people under the general community quarantine, where more people will be out doing serious business while others might be out looking for ways of getting the new high in the time of Covid-19,” Barbers said in a statement Thursday ( June 25).

The Surigao del Norte lawmaker chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs and a member of the Committee on Public Order and Safety.

Barbers noted that under the less restrictive GCQ rules, more people are allowed to leave their homes, presumably for work in vital industries and essential sectors, even as the figures on Covid-19 infection continue to rise sharply.

The lawmaker believes that drug personalities lost billions of pesos in drug trade opportunities when the pandemic forced the government to declare a lockdown in Luzon in mid-March, followed by lockdowns in almost the entire country as the contagion spread in the provinces.

Barbers also warned that drug syndicates will be flexing their muscles slowly to recoup their losses as the nation prepares to return to the new normal and people begin to resume their daily lives.

“These drug syndicates have long prepared for this new normal and have planned out well their next moves amid the fear and confusion,” he said.

He also reminded the law enforcers not to overlook the drug trade resumption despite the heavy schedules and activities on mapping strategies in fighting Covid-19.

Barbers also supported the proposal of Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento, the House chair on Committee on Transportation, for the thorough inspections on seaports, airports, and all bus terminals, cargoes, and vehicles.

The proposed measure, he added, will help stop various criminal activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I trust that the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) will likewise work double-time, as usual, to prevent these syndicates from plying their trade. I congratulate the new PDEA Director Wilkins Villanueva and I give him my full backing, being an old-timer and an insider,” Barbers said. (PNA)