War against illegal drugs: ‘Big announcement’ soon from DILG, PNP

Atty. Benjamin Abalos Jr., secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A ‘big announcement’ is expected early next year as authorities, including the DILG and PNP, step up their war against illegal drugs.

This was what Atty. Benjamin Abalos Jr., secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), disclosed during his command visit at the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) headquarters on Tuesday, December 27, 2022.

Abalos was with Police General Rodolfo Azurin Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Abalos said that they will publicize this ‘big announcement’ next week or early in January 2023. However, he refused to provide further details about this for now since this remains ‘confidential’.

During his speech earlier, Abalos directed the PRO-7 men to intensify their efforts against illegal drugs, especially that Cebu is one of the economic drivers of the country.

“As it is right now, Cebu has always been Cebu. It’s one of the economic drivers of our country right now, the tourist itself, the business, etc. because it’s very well managed, of course by the local officials at hindi ka naman pwede mag boom kung hindi maganda ang peace and order mo, parating magkasama yan, magkatuwang,” Abalos said.

“Let us look around, the world, the problem about drugs will always be there, it’s how you approach and dito walang mayaman, walang mahirap,” he added.

In the past months, police arrested a co-policeman, an official and two agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (NCR-SDO) for alleged involvement in illegal drugs. The arrests happened in October and December, respectively.

READ: PDEA official, 2 agents arrested in Taguig HQ for selling ‘shabu’

Following these two major drug hauls, Abalos orders the police to arrest whoever is caught involved in illegal drugs, most especially if these are big drug personalities who moonlight as officials of law enforcement agencies like the four arrested persons.

According to Abalos, the local government units and the community also have crucial roles in the fight against illegal drugs.

Last November 26, 2022, DILG launched  the “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” (BIDA) program. This program is a multi-sectoral campaign against illegal drugs, which aims to reduce the drug demand. In this case, the program does not only target rehabilitation but also prevention of illegal drugs proliferation at the grassroots level.

/bmjo