CEBU CITY, Philippines — All station commanders in Cebu City are directed to tap the barangay and the Department of Social Welfare and Development in addressing the issues on the surge of involvement of minors in the illegal drug activities in the city.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for administration of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said this following reports that they received about more minors getting involved in illegal drug activities in the city, particularly in Barangay Mambaling.
“It [is alarming] but di pa gyud na siya ingun ana ka alarming,” Parilla said.
Parilla admitted that they already had a dialogue with the concerned agencies in the past years regarding the concern about minors involved in illegal activities.
“Karon, based sa information nga atoang nadawat. Atong ipatawag ang atensyon sa hepe to take immediate action. We have to ask the assistance of the other agencies like CSWD or DSWD and the barangay officials,” Parilla added.
Considering that some of the minors involved are those from the Badjao community living in the said barangay, Parilla said that they will also coordinate with barangay officials and ask them to coordinate with leaders of this group.
“Dili ni siya sa PNP lang, considering nga mga minors ni sila dili pa mafilean og kaso, kadtong nag edad og 15 anyos paubos. So, we need help from other agencies,” he added.
With this, Parilla said that they will intensify their information dissemination and will involve parents and guardians so that they can also police their own children in their respective homes.
Earlier, the PDEA-7 disclosed that there is a decrease in price of illegal drugs, particularly ‘shabu’ in the city. Parilla explained that there are two possible reasons for this.
First, he said, is that there may be an increase in supply. Another reason is that there may be a downtrend in the demand.
Parilla believes that the latter could be the possible reason as the public is much more aware of the ill effects of illegal drugs.
/bmjo
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