12,000 ADDICTS RESIDE IN NEGOR: VIGILANTES

Negros Oriental is inhabited by about 12,000 drug addicts excluding drug
dealers, drug lords and distributors, the vigilante group calling themselves
the 6425 Brigade, said in a two-page statement sent to DAILY STAR.

The group, led by a certain Kumander Boy Blanco, said most of the 12,000
addicts are young persons.

He said these people, who comprise one percent of the population, consume
fro m three to five kilos of illegal drugs every three weeks. Consumption
also goes up on fiestas, barangay discos and parties.

The press statement also confirmed earlier reports that Ozamis City in
Mindanao serves as a big supplier for drugs in Dumaguete City and the
provinces. Throughout the country, Blanco said, there is a total of two
million drug users and this includes the youth from the upper, middle and
lower class, some congressmen, actors and actresses.

The others are sons or daughters of politicians, businessmen, and even
children of those connected with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the
Philippine National Police.

The 6425 Brigade has called on the public to be vigilant and help them
identify individuals who are into the drug trade. But they did not give
details on how to do so.

They also called on the academic sectors to be in the frontline of
intelligence gathering, saying the schools are one big market for shabu.