WHEN Talisay City was still a town, Barangay Tanke was known as a very progressive fishing village.
Tanke was named after the World War 2 tanks that were left there during the liberation of Cebu from Japanese occupation in 1945.
Fish vendors and buyers from Talisay and other parts of southern Cebu would flock to Tanke, particularly to Sitio Kilawan, to get the freshest catches of the day.
If Cebu City had Pasil, Talisay had Tanke, said former barangay captain Perla Cabanes.
But Tanke slowly lost its luster when illegal drugs started proliferating in the community.
Cabanes, who had served as barangay captain for more than 10 years, said the selling of illegal drugs began in the 1990s, when she was still a councilor.
They used to sell marijuana and cough syrup, but it’s shabu that has been more lucrative, Cabanes said.
During her stint as barangay captain, Cabanes said, some of the drugs sold in Tanke came from different sources outside and were not sourced on the spot.
Some would said the drugs came from Ozamiz and were first brought to Bohol before being brought to the barangay. Others would say the drugs came from Negros, Cabanes said.
Supt. Marlu Conag, Talisay City police chief, said that based on their intelligence reports, some of the illegal drugs in the barangay came from Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
Cabanes and Conag, though, were able to confirm that once the drugs enter Tanke, these are immediately repacked and distributed to customers.
Since assuming office in January, Conag has observed that drug sellers change strategies every time law enforcers conduct anti-illegal drug operations there.
Children as drug couriers
Aside from using modern technology such as cellular phones to alert them of police presence, drug sellers also employ children as drug couriers.
Drug pusher don’t have to leave the house, they use kids to deliver the drugs, Conag said.
Using minors as couriers also prevents police from filing charges if they are caught, Conag said.
Drug sellers in the barangay, particularly old-timers, have also implemented a system that allows neighbors to protect them from being caught.
Conag said drug personalities have become “Robin Hoods,” sharing their drug proceeds with whoever needs assistance. As a result, they have gained the sympathy and the cooperation of the neighborhood.
Conag said that during operations, neighbors would sometimes throw rocks at his men.
Aside from neighbors, drug personalities use drivers of trisikads, the main mode of transport in the barangay, to alert them of incoming policemen.
“It’s a very complicated system they have here,” Conag said in Tagalog.
Cabanes said that poor residents sell illegal drugs because it is “easy money.”
“Kasagaran anang mamaligya kay mga tapulan na. Dili sila gusto mulihok o mutrabaho as mas gusto nga muabot ang kwarta nga sayon ra (Most of the drug pushers are lazy. They don’t want to work hard for their money),” Cabanes said.