Drug trade still affects 62 Oro villages

By Uriel Quilinguing, Contributing Editor .

THERE are still many drug users in 62 of the 80 barangays in this city, and they are among the 50,000 still hooked to drugs in Northern Mindanao, an official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said yesterday.

Emerson R. Rosales, regional director of PDEA 10, disclosed these in Wednesday’s revived “Meet the Press” forum at the Cagayan de Oro Press Club and that these barangays are their targets of anti-illegal drug operations. But he declined to publicly identify them.

The remaining 18 barangays are free from drug affectation, however; nine were cleared from drug personalities and users, while the other nine have been “unaffected” by drugs ever since.

Rosales said they have seized P8.6 million worth of dried marijuana (Cannabis) leaves, and shabu or crystal meth (methamphetamine), so far, region-wide after his assumption to PDEA 10’s top post a year ago.

He said that as long as the demand is high, supply of drugs will always be there because these are not manufactured locally.

“We are geographically challenged,” said the PDEA 10, hinting drugs from foreign shores to many part of the country’s long coastlines. For this, the drug enforcement agency has imbedded agents in most of the customs offices nationwide.

Rosales said: “So our focus is on reducing the demand for these drugs,” thus the relentless arrests of those engaged in drug trafficking and in buy-bust operations.

“We consider a barangay to be drug-affected if it has a drug user, even just one who has been identified and verified,” said Jorec Tacal, an agent of PDEA 10.

Tacal said that Barangay 23 in this city is set be declared drug-free anytime once documentary requirements are completed.

He said that they work closely with police, other agencies, local officials, and community leaders before a barangay is declared cleared from drugs.

Across the region, there are 632 other “drug-affected barangays” in Misamis Oriental (230), Bukidnon (192), Lanao del Norte (103), Misamis Occidental (76), and Iligan (31), as of yesterday.

These represent 34% of all 2,022 barangays in the region, with 1,199 barangays cleared by PDEA 10 from drug affectation.

There were 129 barangays, mostly in far-flung areas, were never strained by illegal drugs: Lanao del Norte (50), Misamis Occidental (20), Bukidnon (19), Misamis Oriental (9), Camiguin (2), and Iligan (2). Only Camiguin has been declared totally drug-free.