BACOLOD City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has ordered Colonel Thomas Joseph Martir, director of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), to intensify the campaign against illegal drugs.

Benitez said the BCPO director should make sure that there will be more assets to arrest the drug pushers and users in various barangays.

This, after on November 8, Abby Araneta, 28, councilman of Barangay Alijis, and her companion, Freely Boy Aldas, 39, of Barangay Mansilingan, were arrested in a drug bust operation by operatives of City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) at Alijis-Taculing Road in the city.

The operatives also seized an estimated P1.3 million worth of suspected shabu from the suspects.

Benitez said a casual employee assigned at the City Health Office was also earlier arrested in a drug bust.

"Our police should double their efforts to address the drug problem in the city," he said.

The mayor stressed that they are now studying the proposal to require the city employees including the barangay officials to undergo drug tests.

" We will come up with a decision on that," Benitez said.

Ma. Joy Marideth Madayag, head of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Bacolod, also earlier expressed support for the proposal to require all barangay officials to undergo a mandatory drug testing.

Madayag said the barangay officials should serve as an example to their constituents and intensify their campaign against illegal drugs within their barangays.

"They should be a role model to their constituents. We have our Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Badac) so they should be responsible for their actions,” she said.