Gov’t. worker admits being drug financier, surrenders
Five self-confessed drug personalities from Barangays Labangon and Basak surrender to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña at his office at City Hall. (CDN PHOTO/NESLTE L. SEMILLA)
Five self-confessed drug personalities, one of them a government employee, from Barangays Labangon and Basak went to the office of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to surrender.
The government employee, who requested anonymity, said he financed pushers since 2013.
“Naay mobaligya, unya ako ang mopuhunan nila (There is a pusher, and I would finance them),” he told Cebu Daily News.
He started in 2013 after one of his acquaintances approached him and asked to borrow capital for his illegal drug business. He also revealed that there are two of them who lend money to drug peddlers.
According to this government employee, he decided to turn himself in because he was afraid that the police might knock on his door and tag him as a drug pusher, which would humiliate his family, especially his children who are still in school.
He, however, said he would not snitch on drug pushers in his barangay for fear of reprisal.
The other four claimed to be drug pushers in Barangay Basak, vowed to cooperate with Mayor Osmeña and help them identify other drug personalities in his area.
Five other self-confessed drug personalities surrendered to Punta Princesa Barangay Captain Joe Navarro. Navarro said they were weary of the ongoing campaign against the illegal trade.
They were residents of Sitio Don Bosco, Navarro said.
The police have already started their initial investigation and profiling of the persons who surrendered.
Meanwhile, Osmeña said he has assigned social workers to talk with the surrenderees.
“We will listen to them, and we will analyze them on a case to case basis,” Osmeña said.
San Fernando
Meantime, at least 102 self-confessed drug users and pushers surrendered to the San Fernando police yesterday.
San Fernando Police Chief, Chief Insp. Richard Gadingan, said 99 surrendered in the morning while three more surrendered yesterday afternoon.
Although there were 120 drug pushers and users who committed to surrender in their list, only 99 surrendered in the morning.
In a phone interview, Gadingan said that most of those who surrendered are drug users coming from Barangays Pitalo, San Isidro, Balud and Sangat.
He said this is a result of their implementation of Oplan TukHang where police go house to house to convince drug users and pushers to stop their illegal activities.
Those who surrendered were made to sign an affidavit and asked to submit their biodata for profiling.
Of those who surrendered, 18 were self-confessed drug pushers, the rest were users.
Gadingan said that none of them were in the San Fernando police watchlist.
“Pero dili ta makontento aning TukHang. Naa pay major operation ilabi na sa mga gahi ug ulo (We will not limit ourselves to TukHang. There are still major operations against those who insist on plying their illegal drug trade),” Gadingan said.
Last Monday, one drug pusher surrendered two small packs of shabu worth P800. But charges won’t be filed against him, Gadingan said. Instead he was made to sign an affidavit and made to promise to stop selling shabu.
Gadingan said Mayor Lakambini Reluya met with the surrenderees yesterday morning.
They were assured that the local government will help them look for alternative livelihood./ UP Cebu Intern Patrick Byron G. Gattoc
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