120 brgys face revocation
The drug-cleared certification received by some 120 barangays in Cebu province might be revoked after 30 percent of drug surrenderers from those areas tested positive during a drug test conducted by the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO).
Ivy Durano-Meca, head of CPADAO, said that the drug test was conducted to ensure that the local government units (LGUs) are following the parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).
Meca believed that those surrenderers who tested positive were not monitored by the LGUs.
She also said that the barangays will be given notice by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which headed the oversight committee, naming the surrenderers who tested positive.
“They will be given 30 days to act on it, for an intervention unya kung dili nila ma-address ang katong mga surrenderers nga nag-positive for intervention, marevoke to ilang certification through the resolution of the oversight committee,” Meca said.
Meca said that the results of the drug test shows that the barangays should not relax or be complacent in their programs against illegal drugs, adding that one of the parameters to be considered as drug-cleared is the absence of users in the barangays or LGU.
She added that this serves as a challenge for barangay officials to maintain their drug-cleared status.
“I took it positively baya. After we clear the barangays, it is one step forward to them nga there is more pressure on their side. On their surrenderer's side, makaingon sila nga ‘oy dili ra diay hangtod didto nga mi-surrender mi'. Sa barangays it gives more pressure to them nga kinahanglan sila mo-monitor kay sila man ang ma file-an og sanction administratively from the oversight committee,” Meca said.
However, she also notes that barangays needs more guidance on how to maintain their drug-cleared status.
Meca said they are also looking at giving incentives to those barangays who can sustain a drug-free community under the SUKOD (Sugbo Kontra Droga) Program of the provincial government.
Meanwhile, as part of DDB's program for a drug-free workplace, the CPADAO conducted a random drug test on 158 employees of the Cebu Capitol on Monday. The employees who were from the executive department of the Capitol tested negative.
Meanwhile in Cebu City, three persons were arrested during an anti-illegal drug operations conducted by authorities from San Nicolas Police Station last Monday along V. Rama Avenue, Sun Valley Subdivision, Barangay Calamba past eight p.m. on Monday.
Suspects Arnel Tarroza, 38; Bruce Espinoza, 24; and Mardy Codilla Jr., 18, were apprehended by police. Confiscated from them were 17 pieces of small sachets of suspected shabu weighing 4.3 grams with estimated value of P50,740.
Police operatives led by San Nicolas Station Chief Inspector Keith Allen Andaya dropped by the area after receiving reports of illegal drugs being sold 'like candies' in the neighborhood.
Upon arriving, policemen initially sighted a group of seven men which fit the physical description provided by an informant.
The group of men immediately rushed off to different directions after noticing police presence in the vicinity.
After a short chase, police were able to apprehend only three out of seven from the group.
According to Police Officer 2 Jose Edward Acop, the confiscated shabu from the suspects varied from previously confiscated sachets in that they are in more elongated packs.
He said the suspects distribute the sachets around Barangay Calamba for P600-800 per sachet.
He also said that the suspects are street-value players and are new in the drug trade business as they are not included on the station's drug watchlist.
Suspects refused to disclose information regarding their source for the confiscated shabu, saying only that it was left to them by a certain person.
The three suspects are temporarily detained in the police station pending the filing of appropriate charges against them.