Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Drug use rampant in village near Camp Crame
THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will conduct a drug awareness campaign in a community behind Camp Crame in Quezon City, the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Authorities were alarmed by the degree of drug use on the said village.
PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon said the agency's chief, Dionisio Santiago, has ordered a conduct of a series of intensive drug awareness seminars in Barangay West Crame to dissuade the residents - many of them are policemen - from using drugs.
The PDEA's Preventive Education and Community Involvement Service (Pecis) will be in charge of the activity, according to Carreon.
He said the order was "based on the observations of PDEA operatives that the community is seriously affected by illegal drugs."
"Many residents in the area are drug users and small-time pushers who openly patronize the drug trade. Moreover, parents who were under the influence of drugs have been reported to maltreat their children and a man was recently killed for drug-related reasons, which is indicative of the degree of the economic and social problems in the area," said Carreon.
The PDEA's observation on the rampant drug use in West Crame is backed up by the arrest of four suspected drug peddlers last October 8 by operatives of PDEA's Special Enforcement Service (SES).
"Based on the guidance of the PDEA chief, the SES and Pecis will pool their manpower and resources for the massive demand reduction initiative through community education and drug awareness," he said.
"These are geared towards educating the residents of West Crame on the ills of dangerous drugs and empower them to cooperate and support the anti-drug campaign," added Carreon. (VR/Sunnex)
