30 show biz celebs monitored for drugs
At least 30 entertainment celebrities believed hooked on illegal drugs are being monitored by the Philippine National Police (PNP), it was learned yesterday.
A new list of celebrities allegedly into drugs came from radio disc jockey Karen Bordador, who was arrested recently along with her boyfriend at a condominium unit in Pasig City for possession of party drugs, according to Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
Actor Mark Anthony Fernandez, who was arrested in Pampanga last week with a kilo of marijuana, was in an old list, Albayalde said.
“We have an old and a new list, which we are now subjecting to a validation process ( through) our intelligence units,” Albayalde said in an interview.
He said Senior Superintendent Eleazar Matta, NCRPO intelligence chief, would spearhead a workshop among intelligence officers of his five police districts and 38 police stations this week to evaluate and validate their lists of celebrities allegedly into drugs.
This developed as Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa disclosed that the PNP lacked funds for the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.
“What we lack in funds, we compensate with this,” said Dela Rosa, lightly pounding his chest to symbolize the PNP’s “heart” for the campaign, during an interview with CNN
Philippines on Saturday. Dela Rosa said the PNP had not yet received additional funds for their war on drugs from the budget department, but the police still launched
Oplan Double Barrel and Oplan Tokhang since July 1.
Double barrel targets high value and street- level drug personalities while Tokhang involves police knocking on the doors of alleged drug addicts or dealers to warn them of consequences if they do not reform.
The NCRPO also disclosed yesterday that on Negros Island Region, 34 barangay offi were under surveillance by authorities for alleged links to the drug trade.
The PNP National Operation Center (NOC) reported that police units nationwide had conducted 28,510 antidrug operations from July 1 to Oct. 7, which resulted in the death of 1,523 drug personalities who allegedly put up a fight during the raid.
Dela Rosa said the police arrested 26,861 drug pushers and users during the same period.
The PNP also said police operatives in 18 police regions visited 1.7 million households under Tokhang with 736,247 pushers and users who voluntarily surrendered.
Dela Rosa, however, said 13 policemen were killed and 40 were wounded during those operations.
Dela Rosa said the PNP could have achieved more against illegal drugs if given additional budget to finance the police operations.
But he said the PNP was quite used to operating on a meager budget. “We still need money but you can overcome that challenge… An interagency drug council is said to be being crafted… a P1-billion budget is part of it,” Dela Rosa said.
In the 118.5- billion proposed budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government ( DILG) for 2017, the PNP proposed P90 billion for its major final output ( MFO) or the crime prevention and suppression services.
New list
Albayalde gave assurance there would be no sacred cows in the anti-drug campaign as he appealed to the management of TV networks to help in curbing the drug problem by initiating random drug tests among celebrities.
Albayalde said the NCRPO was also coming up with a list of fresh targets to neutralize as part of the continuing campaign against illegal drugs.
For his part, Negros Island Region Liga ng mga Barangay president Noli Villarosa revealed that five barangay captains and 21 councilors in Bacolod City were being monitored for suspicion of being drug users, peddlers or drug protectors.
Villarosa said he has submitted the list of barangay officials with alleged links to drugs to the PNP and DILG for validation.
A police commissioned officer actively involved in the anti- drug campaign of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office but who refused to be identified, said seven barangay captains and a councilor in Negros Occidental were also being investigated for their alleged links to the drug trade.
Federico Gayagas Jr., barangay chairman of Bacong Montilla in Bago City, facing two counts of illegal possession of firearms charges, was also confirmed earlier by Senior Superintendent William Señoron, provincial police director of Negros Occidental, to be included in the drug watch list of the Bago City Police.
Gayagas debunked police allegations that he was into illegal drugs, claiming he was an asset of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Of the 1,219 barangays in Negros, 1,117 have been classified by the police as affected by the drug menace, equivalent to 91.63 percent, records of the Police Regional Office 18 showed.
Villarosa said barangay officials who tested positive for use of drugs would face dismissal from office.
Negros Occidental Liga ng mga Barangay president Annabelle Bermudo said the Barangay Anti- Drug Abuse Councils were being required to submit a list of drug pushers and users in their areas to the police for validation.
Julius Navales, PDEA regional director, admitted that some of the drug groups operating in Negros Occidental, listed in a white paper, also appeared in their target list with some of their leaders already arrested, or had surrendered either to the PDEA or the PNP.
The white paper contained the names of policemen and government offi cials in Negros Occidental accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Navales said they were joining the PNP in validating the allegations against those listed in the white paper, and those being circulated in social media.
“We should be very careful in validating those things,” Navales said, as he also expressed belief that the “white paper” could be part of a demolition job against some politicians.
Shut up
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar has urged critics of the administration’s drug war to shut their mouths if they could not help in the efforts to weed out illegal drugs in the country.
“Instead of criticizing us unfairly… why not help us, solve our problems,” Andanar said over dwFM.
When Duterte criticized both his local and foreign critics, Andanar said the Chief Executive was merely telling the world that the country has its own reform policy and problems.
He pointed to the “excellent” rating Duterte received in the latest Social Weather Stations survey on the government’s drug war.
“If other nations have problems, we do not interfere. If you cannot say good things, then don’t speak. If you cannot help, remain silent. The message of the President is that simple,” Andanar said.
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