Gullas, cop chief assess drug trade in city

TALISAY City Mayor Eduardo Gullas said it’s hard to believe that no policeman in the city is involved in illegal drug trade.

“Lisud tuhuan. Base on my gut feel I think there is but there are more reasons to believe nga naa gyud (It’s hard to believe. Base on my gut feel, I think there is but there are more reasons to believe that there is),” Gullas said.

Supt. Aileen Recla, acting police chief of the Talisay City Police Office (TCPO), told reporters Wednesday morning that she agrees with Gullas.

She said she could not believe that none of the policemen in Talisay were involved or had not been named as a drug protector since in the past years, there were fewer accomplishments on anti-illegal drugs.

Recla said she received information from barangay officials that there are police operatives that are “friends with the players” (referring to drug pushers) in the city.

She said some of them are seen going in and out of the barangays where drug pushers are very rampant.

Recla asked verification from the Cebu Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) about the information that she received but she was told that none of them were found to be positive of drug involvement.

She said the police are ‘demoralized’ with some of them asking for transfer to another unit. “For now, dili pa nako buhaton (ang pagbalhin). Gihatag pa nako akong pagsalig nila (For now, I am not transferring them. I am giving them my trust),” she told reporters.

Recla said this group of policemen are her companions when doing anti-illegal drugs operation in the city. It has been 10 days since Recla has just assumed as Talisay City Police Office chief, replacing Supt. Germano Mallari.