SOME APPLICANTS HAVE PENDING DRUGS CASES

BACKGROUND checks on those who have applied to be deputized as agents of
Capitol's Anti-Drug Abuse and Trafficking Task Force have uncovered drug
and other cases against those who want to help Cebu Province fight the problem.

Gov. Pablo Garcia yesterday said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
(PDEA) 7, which is doing a detailed investigation on the applicants, has
placed a few barangay captains, councilors, and even municipal councilors,
in a "watch list."

Further checks

This means further checks will have to be made to ensure that they do not
compromise Capitol's campaign against illegal drugs.

PDEA 7 operatives have been going around barangays to ask about their
leaders who have applied. Police and National Bureau of Investigation
records are also checked for background.

Garcia related that a barangay councilor in the southern town of Dalaguete
had been suspended in the past and has a drug-related case pending against him.

The councilor cannot be made an agent of the task force because of his record.

"Ma-ukay gyud ang mga records ani (The records of these volunteers will be
dug up)," Garcia said in his news conference.

If there are those interested to pursue cases to challenge the officials'
function to power, he said the background checks may serve some purpose.

Honoraria

Deputized mayors will each receive as honoraria P5,000 monthly beginning
this month until Garcia's term ends on June 30, 2004.

Barangay captains, meanwhile, will get P1,000 each every month while
barangay councilors and secretaries will receive P250 monthly.

Meanwhile, Garcia said some mayors in Cebu's third and fourth congressional
districts have not applied to be deputized. Some mayors have also
reportedly stopped their barangay captains from submitting their applications.

Among the towns that are not expected to support Garcia's program are
Pinamungajan, Asturias, and Tuburan, as well as Toledo City.

It is a pity, the governor said, since Asturias has been identified as one
of the areas where the drug problem has worsened.