Reg’l law enforcement committee convened

Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas director, convenes the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee in the PRO-7 office in Cebu City to discuss coordination among government agencies especially in the war against illegal drugs.
CDN PHOTO/NESTLE L. SEMILLA

30 gov’t agencies led by PRO-7 chief tackle coordination in drug war

Representatives from 30 government agencies in Central Visayas gathered in Cebu City on Tuesday (Dec. 11) to discuss coordination in enforcing laws as the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) revived the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (RLECC).

With illegal drugs still a significant problem in communities in the region, Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, PRO-7 chief, said in a press briefing on Tuesday that they would need the help of other government agencies to address this problem.

Sinas said this was one of the main reasons of reviving the RLECC, which had not been convened since July last year when Sinas took over as PRO-7 chief.

These agencies signed a memorandum of agreement to help each other in enforcing laws especially in the campaign against illegal drugs.

“We presented what our accomplishment particularly on illegal drugs which affect our daily lives. So far we all have good accomplishments, and we agreed to continue our current programs,” said Sinas.

These included the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas’ accomplishments in the drug war and the current trend in illegal drugs in the region.

PDEA-7 Chief Wardley Getalla said that they had noticed that the prices of shabu in the region had gone down.

Getalla said that the current street price of shabu had been almost cut in half or from P11,800 per gram to P6,800.

Getalla said that this would be because of an abundant supply or the low quality of shabu.

“Posibleng maraming supply pa ng shabu dito kaya nag-cut down ang price o nag-low yung quality at kailangan idispose agad,” said Getalla.

(There is a possibility that the supply of shabu here is still abundant as the reason for the price cut or the low quality of the shabu that it would need to be disposed of immediately.)

Recently, the PRO-7 had confiscated a yellowish and brownish kind of shabu in their recent drug hauls in Cebu, which the authorities described as a low quality shabu.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), who also sent a representative to the meeting, said that they welcomed the coordination especially in their role in stopping illegal drugs.

LTJG (Lieutenant Junior Grade) Michael Encina, PCG spokesperson, said that the coordination of other agencies would be a big help to their anti-drug efforts.

He cited the strict implmentation of the Maritime Pre Departure Inspection, where Coast Guard personnel would inspect vessels before departing from their port of origin.

He also mentioned the Safety Security Environmental Numbering System (SSEN) where they would put numbers on small motorbancas as a means to know their profile.

He also said that sharing of intelligence about the region’s coastal areas being used as exit points of drug personalities would help them a lot in their campaign.

Aside from the war on drugs, the RLECC also discussed security plans of upcoming big events in Central Visayas such as the Sinulog in January and the midterm election in May next year.

Yesterday’s RLECC was attended by representatives, who include those from the region’s National Bureau of Investigation, PDEA-7, PRO-7, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Coast Guard.