THE POLICE Regional Office–Cordillera (PRO-COR) called on all local government units (LGUs) in the region particularly those with marijuana plantation sites to declare marijuana cultivators as ‘persona-non-grata’ in their areas of jurisdiction.
In the latest marijuana eradication campaign at Sitio Palina, Barangay Tacadang in Kibungan, Benguet, PRO-COR regional director Brigadier General R’win Pagkalinawan said the declaration of the LGU would give the semblance of illegality, which will pave the way for possible arrests of such individual through a local ordinance which the LGUs will create and pass.
“Patterned after the ELCAC (Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) or the government program to remove the influence of the CPP-NPA atrocities in the country, we are proposing that barangays or municipalities and city’s should have a resolution declaring individuals planting marijuana and those engage in the selling as ‘persona-non-grata’ so that everyone in the community will be conscious that this is illegal. And we hope that this would be followed with a local ordinance so that there would be penalties on such individuals,” Pagkalinawan explained.
Kibungan Mayor Cesar Molitas agreed with the recommendation and confirmed that a proposed ordinance banning criminalizing marijuana cultivation is being worked out.
Once passed into a local ordinance, Kibungan will be the first municipality to undertake such legislative measure that will help in the fight against marijuana plantations in his area.
“For me as the chief executive of the Municipality of Kibungan, this is what I want no matter who will be involved. We know that planting marijuana is illegal and time and again we have been saying this but still until now, there are still these marijuana cultivators,” Molitas said.
Molitas also welcomed the marijuana eradication campaign in the municipality adding he will help PRO-COR in their campaign.