During the meeting, presided over by its chairman, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, the peace and order situation in the region, as well as the illegal drug problem from January to August 31, 2024, were highlighted.
According to the report, anti-drug operations resulted in the confiscation of 156 kilos of shabu, 17 kilos of marijuana, and the destruction of illegal drugs worth ₱374 million.
The Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 also reported a 10 percent decline in crime incidents from January to August this year, compared to the same period last year.
Col. Ireneo Dalogdog, head of the PRO-7 Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD), presented data during the meeting, showing a decline in eight major crimes, namely murder, homicide, rape, robbery, theft, physical injury, motorcycle theft, and carnapping.
The 2,635 crime incidents that occurred from January to August 2023 dropped to 2,368 incidents this year.
The report covered data from the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO), Siquijor Provincial Police Office (SPPO), Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO), and Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO).
In particular, Lapu-Lapu City showed a 25 percent decrease in crime incidents, from 164 last year to 123 this year. However, Negros Oriental was the only area that reported an increase, rising from 340 incidents last year to 358 this year.
Regarding anti-drug operations, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Assistant Regional Director Atty. George Alcovindas reported that approximately one-third of barangays in Central Visayas were affected by illegal drugs.
Out of 3,003 barangays, 1,013, or 33.73 percent, were affected.
From January to August this year, PDEA conducted 3,901 anti-drug operations, leading to the arrest of 4,475 individuals, including 81 high-value targets and two foreign nationals. The agency also rescued 67 minors.
These operations resulted in the seizure of 156,241.78 grams of shabu, 17,351.72 grams of marijuana, and 205 ampoules of Nalbuphine.
On June 6, 2024, PDEA destroyed ₱374,269,250.99 worth of illegal drugs. Since June 2017, the agency has destroyed a total of ₱1.867 billion worth of illegal drugs.