FIVE minors were rescued by the police from drug dens in a series of operations that netted P1.1 million worth of illegal drugs in Danao City last Saturday.
Chief Insp. Gerard Ace Pelare, the city police commander, said adults will possibly use the boys, aged 12 to 16, in their drug operations.
Three of the minors yielded each a pack of “shabu,” the police report said. They were brought to the local social welfare office for evaluation and counseling.
“We suspect they will be exploited by the arrested pushers,” Pelare said.
He said there are no big-time pushers operating in Danao City, but street-level pushers still continue to peddle shabu.
“Mo-thrive gihapon ang shabu kay naa pay demand (Shabu will thrive because there is still demand),” he said.
“Mangita og paagi ang street pushers nga makakuha og supply sa Danao kay naa pay demand (Street pushers find a way to get drug supply in Danao because demand remains).”
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz, in an earlier interview, said that drug groups are using children in their illegal activities to avoid arrest.
Lawyer Noemi Truya Abarientos of the Children’s Legal Bureau (CLB) said authorities should investigate the parents of minors.
She said that negligent parents are liable under Republic Act 7610, or the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
Abarientos said children should not be punished, adding they should be treated as victims.
Other operations last Saturday resulted to the arrest of 53 drug personalities and death of Antonio Lopez Jr., the alleged hitman of detained drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro.
Lopez’s father, Tony, said his son was framed by the police.
Pelare said their operation against Lopez, who engaged the police in a gunfight, was legitimate.
“The buy-bust operation against Lopez was a product of thorough and painstaking monitoring, surveillance and intelligence gathering,” he said. “Intelligence shows his close connection with Barok.”
The police official is willing to provide the family with investigation report.
Pelare said they have not noticed the presence of Alvaro’s underlings in the city, except Lopez.
Alvaro surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation-Bohol in June last year, following the death of Central Visayas drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz who allegedly engaged the police in a shootout in Las Piñas City.
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Cebu said it can provide assistance to drug users, especially minors who are involved in illegal drugs.
In an interview yesterday, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said that the Archdiocese, particularly the Cebu Archdiocesan Program for Drug Dependents (CAPDD), can provide assistance to drug users.
But Palma admitted that the drug problem is complicated.
He believes that the national government must address concerns, such as unemployment and poverty as a way to solve the illegal drug problem. (KAL, JKV)