VERGARA URGES COOPERATION IN CITY'S DRIVE AGAINST DRUGS

MAYOR Bernardo Vergara has appealed anew to residents in the city to
cooperate in the city's anti-drug abuse campaign by reporting suspected drug
abusers and traffickers to the police.

"If we will not do our part, then our children will continue to be victims
of the drug menace," he added.

The appeal was made after the National Bureau of Investigation expressed
alarm over a recent development in the city's drug abuse situation which was
reported during the City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) meeting on
Wednesday.

During the meeting, NBI Regional Director Rickson Chiong reported that a
16-year old student from one of the biggest high school campuses in Baguio
was subjected to a drug test and subsequently tested positive of both shabu
and marijuana.

"To test positive for the abuse of the two substances is something. This
situation is very alarming," Chiong said, adding that they believe that the
condition is not confined to that high school boy alone.

"The boy's condition could also be an indication that many others in that
school are of similar condition."

He, however, lamented that their investigations of similar incidents, were
continuously hampered by the lack of cooperation among the residents,
particularly the parents of the victims.

"There is this stigma that parents are afraid to report to the NBI or police
the condition of their children. But they have to understand that law
enforcers are not trying to prosecute their children.

We only intend to subject the children to a drug test to possibly get vital
information that may be used in pinpointing the real culprits. The children
are not the suspects, they're just victims," Chiong stressed.

In view of this report, Vergara said the involvement of the schools and the
Parents-Teachers Association should be enjoined in the campaign against
illegal drugs.

As such, the body agreed to include in the CPOC the head of the federation
of PTAs in the city along with the school division superintendent as regular
members to speed up interaction between government and private sectors.

Another suggestion made is the passage of an ordinance for schools to adopt
a policy that will require students to undergo periodic drug testing to
determine the extent of the problem and to employ appropriate solution to
it.

Chiong said there is a sharp rise in the number of drug cases in the city
although no specific figure was presented.

Over at the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council, action officer Vice Mayor Betty
Lourdes Tabanda said that their networking with the schools has been gaining
headway as more schools now are submitting reports on suspected cases for
action by their agencies attached with CADAC.