Anti-drug campaign makes headway

The good news from Camp Crame, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police is that 27,248 barangays in the country have been cleared of illegal drugs.

This is an accomplishment rate of 76.76 percent since there are 35,536 barangays nationwide identified as drug-affected. There are 42,046 barangays in the country.

The PNP uses the term “drug-cleared” for barangays previously classified as drug-affected but had successfully hurdled the Barangay Clearing Program and declared drug-cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing.

The term “drug-free,” however, is used for barangays that have had no reports of drug activity at all.

Of the drug-cleared barangays, 115 were classified as seriously affected and 12,560 moderately affected. The remaining 14,573 were described as slightly affected.

The regions that registered the highest drug clearance rate are Calabarzon with 97.06 percent followed by Cagayan Valley, 95.55 percent; the Cordilleras, 95.22 percent; Eastern Visayas, 94.52 percent, and Soccsksargen, 89.37 percent.

PNP Chief Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr. has commended government agencies, local officials and communities for helping bring down the number of drug-affected barangays.

“As we continue our fight against illegal drugs, we remain committed to ensuring the safety, security and well-being of every citizen,” he said.

While acknowledging the good progress made by law enforcers in clearing drug-affected barangays, the top cop emphasized the need to stop the drug trade in the remaining 8,288 barangays, 326 of them classified as seriously affected.

At present, Acorda pointed out, 8,288 barangays continue to be affected by drug-related issues.

These barangays include 326 that were classified as seriously affected, 5,780 as moderately affected, and 2,182 as slightly affected. Hence, law enforcers continue to launch drug-clearing operations on a nationwide scale.

It is plain to see the police force continues to make headway in the campaign against illegal drugs. If over 27,000 drug-affected barangays out of more than 35,000 have been cleared of illegal drugs, then that represents a significant accomplishment for the PNP.

But it cannot afford to lose its focus.

The police cannot lick the drug problem through an iron hand alone: it should be a whole-of-society effort, with law enforcers, local government units, non-government organizations and ordinary citizens working together to substantially reduce, if not totally eradicate, this social menace.

PNP: Bantag never a police officer

While we’re on the subject of law enforcement, the PNP has clarified, contrary to a statement by a Department of Justice official, that fugitive former jails chief Gerald Bantag was never a police officer.

The Camp Crame Public Information Office issued the statement to correct the claim of the DOJ spokesman that Bantag was a police officer who had a network within the PNP that made his arrest difficult.

“The [PNP] would like to clarify that Mr. Gerald Bantag [was never] a member of the Philippine National Police… He used to be a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) officer before his appointment to the Bureau of Corrections,” according to the PNP Public Information Office.

Based on public records, Bantag was a member of the 1996 Kaagapay Class of the Philippine National Police Academy, but did not enlist with the PNP and instead entered the BJMP, eventually becoming the first four-star general among his batchmates.

“We want to emphasize that, irrespective of one’s rank, stature, or source of commission of any officer, the PNP will arrest any individual who has violated the law. The achievements of our police tracker teams exemplify our record in arresting wanted persons,” the PIO said.

Bantag and his deputy Ricardo Zulueta are wanted for the October 2022 killings of radio broadcaster Percival Mabasa (also known as Percy Lapid) and Cristito Palaña (alias Jun Villamor), an inmate of New Bilibid Prison who is believed to have recruited the hit men who killed Mabasa.

The Las Piñas and Muntinlupa courts hearing the cases issued the warrants of arrest for the two in April, six months after the two personalities were killed.

Since the issuance of the arrest warrants against Bantag and Zulueta, tracker teams of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group have been “working round the clock and at all times in support of the National Bureau of Investigation and other officers of the law to apprehend the fugitives promptly,” the PIO said.

The DOJ and the NBI raised a P2-million reward for any information that could lead to Bantag’s arrest and another P1 million for Zulueta’s.

Will the offer of a bounty for the arrest of the two fugitives lead to the solution of the case and render justice for the brazen killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid?

We’ll have to wait and see.

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