BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia clarified on Tuesday, September 4, that the city is not the main source of illegal drugs, as it only serves as transshipment of the contraband from other regions.
Leonardia said this was confirmed by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Negros Occidental officer-in-charge Jose Tomabini Jr, who paid a courtesy call at the City Mayor’s Office Monday afternoon, September 3.
The mayor was only reacting to the reports that Bacolod has now become the main source of shabu of Iloilo City and Iloilo Province.
Leonardia said Tomabini informed him that Bacolod served as transshipment of the illegal drugs because the possible sources will come from Cebu which were shipped to San Carlos City and if it will come from Mindanao, it can pass the area of Negros Oriental.
He said Bacolod would be an area of the drug pushers to ship the illegal drugs to Panay Island and it is also possible that the illegal drugs were also transported from Panay to Negros Occidental.
“These are all the possibilities and the PDEA is intensifying their intelligence monitoring to intercept the entry of illegal drugs in Bacolod, but they also admitted that they lack personnel for the drug operations,” he added.
Leonardia noted that the K-9 dogs are not enough to trace the illegal drugs in seaports because they will only be effective for two-hours to locate the contraband.
“Overall, PDEA did not issue a statement that we are beyond the extra or alarming situation although, of course, per see the drug problem by itself is alarming, but I don’t think that we are in the category of those who are in the high-alert level,” Leonardia said.
He said PDEA also held a meeting with the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac) members on Monday, September 3, especially that the city’s drug rehabilitation center project is being implemented with PDEA.
“With the new PDEA official, we expect some changes and innovation because he came from Cebu. The important thing is we are coordinating with each other,” Leonardia added.
PDEA had earlier turned over P10 million to the City Government for the construction of drug rehabilitation center in Barangay Alijis. The remaining P25 million will be shouldered by the City Government.
The mayor also urged PDEA to accelerate the construction of the Balay Silangan project in Bacolod.
“If it is already implemented, we will just be one of only four in the whole country as the pilot sites of the Balay Silangan Reformation Program,” Leonardia said.
"Balay Silangan," the national drug reformation program, offers temporary refuge with the objective of reforming drug offenders into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.