BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan—Six barangay captains, a barangay councilman, a former municipal councilor and an accomplice—all tagged as high-value drug targets—were arrested following a law enforcement sweep here.
Joint forces of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Region 1, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army arrested barangay captains Eduardo Alcantara, of Barangay Beleng; Roderick Casingal of Barangay Iton; Remato Soriano of Barangay Tamaro; George Balbin of Barangay Nalsian Sur; and Gildo Madriano, of Barangay San Gabriel.
Gerardo de Vera, a former municipal councilor of Barangay Zone 1, and Jose Sandy Gavino, a resident of Barangay Tamaro, were also arrested.
The joint police-military force found 20 plastic sachets containing suspected shabu weighing about 40 grams with an estimated street value of P120,000, two airsoft rifles, a Glock caliber .40 pistol, and a 9mm pistol with pieces of ammunition and several drug paraphernalia after searching the suspects’ homes.
From January to October this year, 11 barangay chairmen and 40 barangay kagawads, or 51 barangay officials nationwide, were arrested for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, PDEA-RO1 said.
In 2015, 65 barangay officials were arrested for drug-related offenses, an 18.8 percent increase compared to 2014 when 55 village leaders were arrested.