PO1 Joanne Opalla never thought that her journey from being a housemaid to a rookie policewoman would take her to some dangerous streets of Barangay Tangke in Talisay City.
Opalla, 28, of Getafe, Bohol, is one of 42 police officers deployed by the Police Regional Office 7 to be garrisoned at the drug-infested village a week ago.
She is one of 14 women assigned in the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RMFB) 7.
Opalla admitted she has finally seen the risk of her profession.
“We can only trust each other whenever we are conducting patrols. We don’t know who our enemy is. Even ordinary folks there turn to drug sellers whenever we turn our backs on them,” Opalla said in Cebuano.
Opalla said that being a police woman is a culmination of her journey from poverty to success.
But the former Southwestern University working scholar and criminology graduate told SunStar Cebu that while she had prepared herself for the rigors of her chosen profession, Barangay Tangke is a different matter all together.
Opalla said whenever they conduct foot patrols, they always return to their makeshift barracks at the barangay hall with a drug seller or user in tow.
Number of arrests
In a week of operations, the RMFB and the Talisay City police have arrested 56 suspected illegal drug peddlers.
While majority of those arrested are adults, Opalla and her fellow police officers also encountered children being used as peddlers so they wouldn’t be arrested.
For Insp. Clifton Gairanod, Opalla’s superior, Tangke is also a baptism of fire.
A graduate of the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 2016, Gairanod told SunStar Cebu that they’ve received threats from drug peddlers since they arrived in the barangay.
Apparently, their presence and constant operations have affected their illegal businesses, he said.
One suspect even attempted to shoot one of his men during a foot patrol.
Despite their constant vigilance, Gairanod never forgets to boost his men and women’s morale.
Gairanod said his father, former Cebu Provincial Police Office director Clifford Gairanod, would often remind him to always treat his subordinates with respect and to raise their spirits.
He said that he and his police officers are there to stay until illegal drugs in Tangke are eradicated.