BONTOC, Mtn. Province – “Relocate the checkpoint in Ampawilen to the boundary of Mountain Province and Kalinga”!
That was the remark of Sadanga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan during the 4th Quarter meeting of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC) last November 24, 2021.
Mayor Ganggangan raised the request amidst allegations that the marijuana bricks being apprehended reportedly almost weekly along Ampawilen, Sadanga are coming from within the municipality and not Tinglayan, Kalinga.
Irked by such reports, the mayor voiced out his sentiment that the checkpoint should be relocated to the boundary but within the territory of Sadanga a couple of kilometers away from its current location.
“I request the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to cause the relocation of the checkpoint to the boundary to dispel the notion that Marijuana trade are coming from within Sadanga”, he said.
He relayed the joint Resolution No. 3, series 2021 of the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC), Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council (MADAC), and the Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) conducted on October 22, 2021 at Sadanga.
The resolution is “requesting the PDEA-CAR and the PNP-PROCOR through the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) to establish a checkpoint at the boundary of Kalinga and Mountain Province to deter illegal drug trade in the area, and appropriating funds for this purpose”.
The incidents of interception of marijuana in the area has been reported in the social media, including face book. The mayor said that the apprehensions were done almost weekly.
Reportedly, the above incidents caused the ire of drug traders including marijuana cultivators within the area endangering the safety of PNP personnel of the Sadanga Municipal Police Station, and is threatening to affect the inter-tribal relations among the tribes concerned of both the provinces.
The resolution emphasized that to prevent the escalation of tribal conflict among the tribes of both provinces arising from the government’s anti-drug operations, the RPOC ‘s intervention is being sought.
Should the request be granted, the resolution also requests the PDEA-CAR to assign and finance a team to be attached to the PNP checkpoint to take on the anti-drug operations.
According to Angel Baybay, the PADAC focal person, the resolution was approved and endorsed by the RPOC during its latest meeting last December 7, 2021. Concerned agencies are looking for funds for the establishment of the new checkpoint.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ganggangan also requested the PNP and the PDEA to assist them in the provision of meals of the apprehended individuals who stay at the municipal jail whose cases are still being processed before being transferred to the provincial jail, if warranted.
“Tulungan yo dakami met ah as we have a limited budget”, he asked the PDEA and PNP representatives.**Roger Sacyaten
