Cebu City police officers continue with their Oplan Bandilyo where they visit drug infested barangays with a hearse as a way of convincing suspected drug pushers and users to give up their illegal trade and change their lives. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
AS EARLY as 9 a.m. yesterday, two patrol cars and a hearse were parked at the basketball court of Barangay Kamagayan, Cebu City as the Pari-an Police Station conducted “Oplan Bandilyo” in the area.
“Barangay Kamagayan is considered as a hot spot. There are many drug personalities here and nubain is rampant,” said Pari-an Police Chief Dexter Basirgo.
Since July 1, there have been 163 drug surrenderers in Police Station 1. Basirgo said that most of them came from Barangay Kamagayan. Other areas under Police Station 1 are barangays Lorega, T. Padilla, Day-as, and San Antonio.
“We received reports that drug users here mixed nubain and shabu. They called it ‘milk shake’. These are uppers and downers, which resulted to some deaths,” Basirgo added.
Aside from Pari-an, police also conducted “Oplan Bandilyo” in Barangay Duljo-Fatima yesterday where they changed the lyrics of Visayan songs and sang them as the hearse did the rounds in the barangay to send the message of the risk of selling and using drugs.
‘Oplan Bandilyo’ is a campaign of the Philippine National Police (PNP) that uses a hearse to lead police vehicles in a convoy to the house of the person included in their watch list or around a drug-infested community.