PNP: ABRA FAST-BECOMING HAVEN FOR DRUG PUSHERS

CAMP DANGWA -- Records from the Police Regional Office (PRO-CAR)
showed that aside from Baguio City, Abra province is also
fast-becoming a haven for drug pushers in the Cordilleras.

Abra tops the list of having the most drug-affected barangays with 37
followed by Baguio with 25.

PRO-CAR Director Victor Luga, reported during the drug summit presided
over by PNP Deputy Director for Administration Edgardo Aglipay, that
111 of the 233 drug personalities in the watch list are found in Abra.

Around 41 drug personalities, meanwhile, are in Baguio
City.

A police officer said Abra's proximity to the Ilocos Region is one of
the factors why there are even more drug pushers in the province than
in the city, which is the education center north of Manila.

The Agustin Begnalen Command of the mainstream Communist Party of the
Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) alleged in a statement that a
known politician has personal knowledge about the proliferation of
illegal drugs in the province.

Despite the concern, Abra Provincial Police Office has conducted
anti-drug dialogues or seminars from June 16 to August 22, together
with that of Apayao and Mt. Province, records also showed.

The Abra Provincial Police also reported that four of the province's
barangays have already been cleared from the list of drug-infested
barangays in the region.

Meanwhile, around P66.99 million worth of marijuana and its
derivatives were also seized and destroyed by Cordillera police, in
coordination with the regional Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Around 40 drug personalities were also neutralized and 28 cases filed
in various courts against persons arrested for violation of the
Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Anti-Drug Law of 2002.

"At present, PRO-CAR is undertaking vigorous clearing operations on at
least 60 percent of its drug-affected barangays," Luga stressed.

Some 84 barangays in the region are considered affected by drugs, 63
of which concentrates on shabu and the remaining 21 for marijuana.

"Due to sustained anti-drugs operations, the prevalence of drug abuse
and trafficking in the region has dramatically ceased. So far, there
are no reported big-time deals. Small-time peddlers are continuously
being apprehended and users being approached for purposes of
committing them to (rehabilitation) centers," he added.

He also said that barangay clearing activities are presently and
continuously being conducted.