Bacolod, ‘shabulized city’ – Espenido

BACOLOD CITY – Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, head of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU), has tagged Bacolod as a “shabulized city” due to the proliferation of illegal drugs.

Espenido made the statement on Wednesday in a press briefing at the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) headquarters here after he came from a vacation abroad for almost two months.

Despite the police’s intensive drug war, Espenido said that illegal drugs still exists here, citing the big volume of drug recovery by the police and the arrest of some drug personalities.

Based on the records of the BCPO in 2019, the city police force has seized a total of ₱73,031,459.20 worth of illegal drugs from January to December.

Of the total figure, ₱72,996,312 worth of 6,083.026 grams of shabu and ₱35,147.20 worth of 152.8139 grams of marijuana were confiscated last year.

A total of 623 anti-illegal drug operations were conducted which resulted in the arrest of 962 persons, including 111 high-value targets, 115 street level targets, 20 minors, and 715 newly identified drug personalities. One person died during police operation, BCPO records showed.

Espenido, also BCPO’s deputy city director for operations, said that arrested drug suspects in various areas in the Visayas reportedly identify Bacolod as the alleged source of illegal drugs.

“Kayo sa Bacolod, magsalita kayo kung saan galing ang drugs. Hanapin natin,” he said.

Earlier, authorities denied that Bacolod is the source of illegal drugs, claiming that the contraband sneak in the city because drug peddlers take advantage of the Negros island’s vast shorelines.