BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia directed Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), to intensify monitoring of all entry points in the city.
Leonardia said on Wednesday, January 31, that policemen should secure entry points like sea ports, airports, and terminals to intercept contraband and arrest drug personalities.
On Sunday, an estimated of P18 million worth of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) set to be transported in Negros Occidental were seized by authorities from two suspected drug couriers at Dumangas port in Iloilo.
Leonardia said policemen should conduct random inspection even on small boats to ensure that drug couriers are not on board.
The mayor noted that since he assumed his post, he has always been reminding the police chief to exert more effort in the campaign against illegal drugs because it is a serious problem and in the national level, it is the top priority of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“So we don’t want Bacolod to be left behind, and I am always telling them to focus on this problem. I would like to think that Bacolod is not a hotspot. We may have problems, but we are not among those that can be considered very seriously infected so it is best that somehow we try to eradicate or minimize the problem,” Leonardia said.
He said the campaign against illegal drugs should be non-stop and policemen should focus on this problem all the time.
The mayor added that the participation of the community should be active to address this problem.
The City Council approved a resolution requesting Ebreo to instruct the 10 police station commanders to closely monitor the strict adherence of their field personnel to the rule of law and new operational guidelines in the conduct of anti-drug operations.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Sonya Verdeflor, was approved during the regular session Wednesday.
The resolution stated that following the release of new police guidelines on anti-illegal drug operations, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Police Commission (Napolcom) will closely monitor the strict adherence of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to the rule of law and the new operational guidelines during anti-drug operations.
Verdelfor said that with the issuance of the said guidelines, DILG Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año, who is also the concurrent chairperson of Napolcom, hopes that the police organization will be ably guided as they provide active support to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the anti-illegal drugs campaign.
She said the DILG chief reiterated his call that double salary means double time in serving the people.
Verdeflor added that among the coordinating instructions embedded in the guidelines is the observance of command responsibility of every unit commander in closely monitoring the undertakings of their subordinates in the conduct of anti-illegal drugs operations.