There is no let-up in the war against illegal drugs.
This was the marching order of Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) including the Baguio City Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) during the second quarter meeting of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) held May 31, 2024.
During the meeting, the mayor informed members of the CADAC that methamphetamine hydro- chloride or shabu supply may increase in circulation in Baguio City due to cheaper prices abroad, particularly in China and Afghanistan.
The mayor said that shabu, being the most type of illegal substances abused by Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDs) in Baguio City and nationwide now cost lower than P100,000 in China per kilo and may be sold at P5 million in the country.
“Even scarier is the shabu from Afghanistan that only cost P13,000 per kilo according to intelligence reports,” Magalong said.
He directed authorities to include in their surveillance the manufacturing source of illegal substances being circulated in the city as a basis for improving policies and operational procedures when it comes to managing PWUDs.
PDEA Baguio Bureau Information Officer II Terrence Pokais reported there are 39 drug personalities in the target list of the agency, 34 of which are tagged as high value targets.
At the male and female dormitories of the BJMP, more than 50 percent of detainees are drug offenders according to Jail Officer I Ericson Mendoza.
City Social Welfare Development Officer II Raquel Madlon said nine out of 94 or 10 percent of Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) being managed at the Bahay Pag-asa are facing cases of violations relative to R.A. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“It is alarming that we are being flooded with affordable illegal drugs which may impact the relapse rate of our reformed PWUDs,” the mayor said.
Despite this challenge, the mayor encouraged concerted efforts in addressing illegal drug use in the city with the cooperation of all CADAC members and stakeholders. ** JM Samidan