POLICE GAINING IN CAMPAIGN VS ILLEGAL DRUGS

The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) is gaining in its war against the
use and distribution of illegal drugs in the city based on a two-month
assessment.

A report submitted by Senior Supt. Norlito Bautista, Iloilo City
Police Office director, showed that ICPO operatives have already
arrested 28 suspects; recovered 2.345 grams of marijuana and 134.886
grams of shabu for the months of January and February this year. The
report did not contain the names of the suspects.

Bautista, in his report, said "the campaign against illegal drugs is
getting headway as manifested by the arrest of several drug
personalities and confiscation of illegal drugs amounting to thousands
of pesos."

The report said, the intensified demand and supply reduction drive
will continue "to make drug personalities to be on the run and that
the supply of shabu and marijuana in the city will continue to remain
scarce. The prices of shabu and marijuana in the market today have
increased significantly, the report said.

The same report reflected that police precincts in City Proper, Jaro,
Mandurriao and Arevalo have zero accomplishment relative to the
campaign against illegal drugs.

Only the Task Force Bakhaw, Iloilo City Mobile Group, Molo police
precinct, La Paz police precinct and Task Force Angel have records of
apprehensions.

In the same assessment report, the police have designed several
measures to stop the sale and use of illegal drugs in the city. One of
the them is the creation of the Task Force Bakhaw and Task Force Angel.

Task Force Bakhaw is named after Barangay Bakhaw in Mandurriao. Bakhaw
has been in the priority list of the police and local government
because of its illegal drugs problem. While, Task Force Angel was
created to take care of the illegal drug problems of Barangay
Tanza-Esperanza and Malipayon. However, for almost two months since it
was created, the Task Force Angel made only one arrest.

The police have also strengthened the different BADACS in partnership
with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). All
barangay captains who are reluctant in the campaign against illegal
drugs were called by the interior department.