Basketball league for pushers, users
In Sta. Ana Police area, 16 teams from 14 barangays join 1st Phoenix Tokhang Basketball Cup Players are children, relatives of identified pushers, also drug couriers
AFTER t he houseto-house campaign that sought out identified drug pushers to encourage them to stop their illegal trade, the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) is adopting a new approach to further combat the proliferation of illegal drugs and minimize crime: a basketball tournament for teenagers linked to drugs.
DCPO director Sr. Supt. Ronald M. dela Rosa said by organizing a basketball tournament, he expects a decrease in the involvement of teenagers in drugrelated activities and other crimes.
The 1st Tokhang Cup, as the tournament is called, kicked off yesterday at the DCPO covered court.
“Kaning tournament
na-design para ma-encourage ang mga batan-on nga ma-engage sa sports ug wellness para malikayan nila ang involvement sa drugs ug sa uban pang krimen (This tournament is designed to encourage teenagers to engage in sports and wellness so that they will be able to avoid their involvement in drugs and other crimes),” dela Rosa told Sun.Star Davao.
“Those who joined the tournament may serve as good examples for their friends. They could then advise their friends to stop their illegal-drug activities and shift their focus to sports and health and wellness activities instead,” he added.
The DCPO chief said most the participants in the tournament are family members and friends of the suspects that were visited by DCPO operatives during the implementation of Oplan Tokhang.
“We recognize that some of the players in this tournament are former runners of shabu and other illegal drugs in the Sta. Ana police area-of-responsibility (AOR). Most of them were forced by their relatives to be couriers of illegal drugs while some voluntarily got themselves involved in the illegal drug trade,” dela Rosa said.
Sta. Ana police station commander Supt. Caezar Cabuhat, meanwhile, said the new approach is not only a drive against illegal drugs but also a campaign against riot whose participants are teenagers.
“Hindi lang ito part ng anti-illegal drug campaign kundi part din ito ng antiriot namin. Maraming mga teenagers ang involved sa mga gang sa aming AOR so makakatulong din ito para ma-ease ang tension between sa mga gangs (Not only is it part of our anti-illegal drug campaign, it is also part of our anti-riot. There are many teenagers involved in gangs in our AOR so this will help to ease the tension between the gangs),” Cabuhat said.
Cabuhat said there are a total of 16 teams entered in the tournament represented by the 14 barangays in his AOR. Teams will be divided into four brackets and will play the single-round robin elimination.
The top teams from each bracket will advance to the semi-finals en-route to the championships.
He said the boys will get busy as they have scheduled games daily and it will be more exciting as teams will be visiting the home courts of different barangays.
The event is organized by DCPO in partnership with the Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. It is sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas-Mindanao B under its director Regino “Boy” Cua. RSA