89 BARANGAYS CLEARED BY CORDILLERA POLICE OF DOPE

CAMP BADO DANGWA, Benguet - The Police Regional Office of the Cordillera
Administrative Region (CAR) headed by Chief Superintendent Victor P. Luga,
PNI director, reported the other day that a total of 89 barangays had been
cleared of illegal drugs due to the intensified campaign against it.

In his report, General Luga said that aside from the 89 barangays which
were earlier classified as affected of drugs, the PNP Regional Anti-Illegal
Drugs Special Operations Task Force (RAID-SOTF) which he headed had also
de-listed 117 drug personalities out of the listed 238 persons who were
classified either as drug pushers or users in the region.

Luga said that the 89 cleared barangays were delisted from the 117
drug-affected barangays in the region, saying these were done from the
period covering June 16 to October 24. "The creation of the RAID-SOTF has
effectively justified its existence; it has performed well beyond its
targets," said General Luga in his press statement sent to Manila Bulletin
and Tempo.

Aside from this, Luga said that his office has also neutralized all four
identified local drug groups and had seized a total of R169,273,300.00
worth of marijuana and R6,841,612.50 worth of shabu during the said period.

To further boost the PNP regional office's campaign against illegal drugs
as directed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, General Luga said that a
total of R663,577.00 from the RAID-SOTF fund and another R270,000.00 from
the office of the regional director, had already been released to the
different provincial police offices and units for operational consumption.

"With the present status of the Cordillera PNP's battle against prohibited
drugs, it is evident that the drug problem in the region will soon reach
its demise," proudly said Senior Superintendent Eugene G. Martin, Chief of
Staff and head of the Public Information Office here.

Luga appealed to the community to maintain their vigilance against illegal
drugs, saying "It does not matter how much we have neutralized, cleared,
rehabilitated or eradicated, because what really matters most is what we
have done to prevent the resurgence of the menace.