DILG TO CEBUANOS: Protect Cebu from ‘ferocious’ illegal drugs

An official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has appealed to Cebuanos to take government’s anti-drug campaign very seriously and to sustain it even beyond the term of the country’s crime-busting President, Rodrigo Duterte.

In a talk before Cebu officials on Tuesday, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) external and legislative affairs Assistant secretary Ricojudge Janvier Echiverri said Cebu has a “bigger responsibility” to protect the province from illegal drugs because it is “the best tourism spot of the country”.

“Cebu has the best tourism in our country. It has a balance of cultural and natural tourist spots. And when there is tourism alam n’yo na ‘yun (you know that already). There is also a possibility of drugs coming in and out of Cebu,” Echiverri said during the first Cebu Provincial Anti-drug Alliance Summit held at the Grand Convention Center along Archbishop Reyes Ave., Cebu City.

Participants of the forum noted that Cebu was prone to illegal drugs because access to transportation and communication is easy with the province being the center of the Visayas region.

“The need to solve this problem quickly and effectively cannot be over emphasized,” said Echiverri, adding that the illegal drug problem was “ferocious”.

In Cebu province, some P17,363,700 worth of illegal drugs were confiscated from July to November 17 this year, in 641 police operations across cities and municipalities.

Close to 35,000 drug pushers and users surrendered to police authorities and more than a thousand were arrested.

“Ang dami. Dapat mahiya tayo. Dapat magalit tayo sa droga. Dapat isapuso natin (There are a lot. We should be ashamed. We should be angry with drugs and we should take this to heart),” said Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director Senior Supt. Eric Noble.

Noble disclosed that even on his own Facebook account, he received reports from concerned citizens regarding illegal drug operations.

“Nakakatanggap ako ng reports galing sa FB account ko. Pinapadala ko sa concerned police stations ang pangalan at may address pa. It turned out meron nga. Dapat talaga gamitin din natin ‘yung social media, (I receive reports even on my FB account, complete with names and addresses. I send them to the concerned police stations and it turns out, there really is. We should really use social media),” said Noble.

Echiverri, meanwhile, called on officials to seriously implement government’s “Masa Masid” program in their areas of jurisdiction.

Masa Masid is a community-based program, spearheaded by DILG which encourages barangay residents to take a proactive stance in the prevention of illegal drugs, corruption and criminality in their communities.

DILG Cebu provincial director Jerome Gonzales said that while Masa Masid was already being implemented in Cebu, DILG was having some difficulty in getting people to report about the illegal drug trade in their areas for fear of getting the ire of criminal elements.

Echiverri suggested to use a hotline number or the social media so that concerned citizens can give information without necessarily divulging their identities.

“You should take this personally. Ibig sabihin wala na si President Duterte, wala na, di na natin itutuloy to (Does this mean that if President Duterte is no longer around, we will stop this)? No, it should be a personal fight,” Echiverri said.

“Aminin man natin sa hindi, for every Filipino family at least isa biktima o involved sa droga (Whether we admit it or not, every Filipino family has at least one member who is a victim of drugs),” he added.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA- 7) regional director Yogi Filemon Ruiz agreed that every citizen had to take an active part in order to stop the country’s illegal drug problem.

“It’s not PDEA, police and other law enforcement agencies that are the best weapon to fight illegal drugs. The fighting unit is the family and the best weapon is the table,” Ruiz said.

The summit, attended by about 650 participants including town mayors and councilors, was organized by the Cebu Provincial Anti-drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) in line with the celebration of Drug Prevention and Control Week.