A YEAR after the late Ermita barangay captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta was killed, concerns on illegal drugs continue to hound the barangay under the care of his daughter, the acting village chief.
Barangay Councilor Efe Rupinta, the daughter of Imok, has been appointed as acting barangay captain since July of this year after seven of her colleagues, including Barangay Captain Mark Rizaldy Miral, were suspended.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas placed Miral and Barangay Councilors Antonieto Flores, Ryan Jay Rosas, Alio Tamundo, Domingo Ando, Maria Buanghug, and Wilbert Flores under a one-year suspension for their alleged failure to cooperate with authorities during an anti-illegal drug operation in 2016.
After months of taking the lead in the barangay, Rupinta said that among the challenges that she has to face include the utilization of their budget and the campaign against illegal drugs.
Rupinta said illegal drugs remain a problem to them. That’s why she is focusing on implementing programs to encourage the barangay residents to stay away from it.
Although they have programs, Rupinta said the barangay lacks manpower in its implementation. That is why she is closely working with the Philippine National Police.
Apart from holding a monthly barangay anti-drug advisory council to discuss the concerns on illegal drugs and the approach against it, Barangay Ermita also implemented a program dubbed “market denial.”
The program, Rupinta explained, will allow their tanods to conduct checkpoints in the entry points of their barangays and report to the police those suspicious individuals.
“By implementing the program, we can check who are those people coming in and out of our barangay,” she added.
The barangay also implemented a curfew, which means that minors are no longer allowed outside their houses starting 10 p.m.
Aside from that, Rupinta said they are also conducting a survey on those who are renting out residential spaces.
“We are working on the list of renters in our barangay to determine their identities because there are times that they utilize the place they’re renting as drug den,” she said.
Rupinta believes that the situation on illegal drugs in her barangay is better now.
For years, Ermita has been tagged as a drug-infested barangay.
Rupinta has been managing the barangay along with the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials.
Rupinta said that at first, managing the barangay alone was never easy, considering that this is her first term as barangay councilor.
“But now, I have already adjusted. The barangay has been constantly giving the basic public services to our people,” she said.
Rupinta said the challenges she has to face as acting barangay captain include the utilization of their budget and the campaign against illegal drugs.
“What we can do right now is basically limited to paying the salary of our workers and our bills in the barangay. We can’t do procurement or have our vehicles repaired,” she said.
Rupinta said they are not allowed to purchase anything out of the barangay budget since they lack four members for the bids and awards committee (BAC) of the barangay.
Despite the suspension of the other officials, Rupinta said they continue to hold the barangay session together with the SK chairman and the barangay secretary and treasurer.
However, they are not allowed to pass any barangay ordinances.
“We sent a letter request to the Department of the Interior and Local Government if we can still hold sessions, and they told us that we can, but we have limited functions,” Rupinta said.
Last Nov. 23, 2017, Imok was killed in an ambush in Liloan town, northern Cebu while he was on his way home. (RVC)