Sr. Supt. Eric Noble (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).
WITH some police precincts still falling below expectations in the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) director Senior Supt. Eric Noble warned station chiefs to “shape up” during the holidays.
According to Noble, the police chiefs of Carcar City and the towns of Sibonga, Alcantara, Barili, Balamban, Alegria, Aloguinsan, Tabuelan and Samboan have until the last remaining two weeks of the year to improve or face relief from their posts.
“Chinallenge natin sila. Hindi puwede na mag-relax lang sila. It’s also a threat but more on a challenge kasi alam ko naman kaya nila yun eh (I challenge them. They cannot just relax. It’s also a threat but more of a challenge because I know they can do it),” Noble said.
Noble said that there were about 10 police precincts in the province that have low performance level in terms of war on drugs.
Among the cities and towns, the police in Carcar City had the lowest performance, said Noble.
“’Yung mga lagging behind mag-shape up sila kasi hindi naman biro-biro ’yung war on drugs. Hanggang Malacañang at Camp Crame ’yung report. Ine-evaluate din nila tayo (Those lagging behind better shape up because the war on drugs is not a joke. Our reports go up to Malacañang and Camp Crame since they are also evaluating us),” he added.
Since Noble’s assumption last October, he had ordered the relief of eight police chiefs from the towns of Poro, Pilar, Tudela, San Francisco in Camotes Island, Bantayan, Bogo, Barili and Alcantara.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 director Chief Supt. Noli Taliño said that provincial and city directors were given authority to reshuffle their men found to be not performing well.
“Kasi kung hindi nila ma-relieve tapos naka-apekto na sa trabaho ng buong probinsya, baka sila yung ma-relieve. (Because if they will not relieve these people and it already affects the work of the entire province, they might be the ones relieved),” Taliño said.
“Drug free”
Meanwhile, the mountain village of Taptap may soon be the first “drug-free” barangay in Cebu City.
According to Senior Supt. Joel Doria, director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Taptap barangay officials are processing requirements so that their place can be officially declared free from illegal drugs.
Noble said that 13 of 80 barangays in Cebu City no longer have drug personalities in the watch list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) but have yet to comply with certain parameters in order to be declared “drug free.”
“Medyo maingat tayo sa pag-declare. Madali lang ang pag-declare, pero we have to make sure na wala na talagang naiwan. (We’re careful in declaring drug-free barangays. It is easy to declare, but we have to make sure that there are really are no remnants of illegal drugs),” Doria explained.
At least 81 barangays in the province of Cebu were recently declared as “drug-free” by the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO).
According to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Regulation 2 which provides the guidelines for the drug-clearing operations in the barangays, an area can be considered drug-clear in the absence of the following: drug supply or drug transit/transshipment activities; drug laboratories and warehouses, chemical warehouses; marijuana cultivation sites; drug dens; users and pushers; and drug protectors, coddlers and financiers.
A drug-cleared barangay must also have village officials who are active in various anti-illegal drug activities such as a drug awareness and preventive campaign.
It should also have a voluntary and compulsory drug treatment and rehabilitation processing desk.
Aside from the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Badac), both the local police station chiefs and the PDEA shall issue certifications to prove that a locality was indeed free from illegal drugs.
“Even if the barangay will be declared drug-free, our monitoring will continue,” Doria said.