By Mary Judaline Partlow
DUMAGUETE CITY – Anti-illegal drug operatives have seized more than PHP54.3 million in suspected shabu and marijuana in Negros Oriental province during various police operations since January this year.
Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO), said Wednesday during the weekly Kapihan sa PIA forum that as of Nov. 20, a total of 7.7 kilograms of suspected shabu were seized in 516 operations across the province.
The confiscated shabu had an estimated street value of over PHP52.7 million.
During the same period, police also confiscated over 13 kgs of marijuana with a street value of almost PHP1.6 million, Polinar said.
A total of 516 operations were conducted in the period covered, with 537 drug personalities arrested, he said.
The arrested suspects include 67 high-value individuals, 442 street-level individuals, and 26 others not listed in the police’s roster of drug personalities, he added.
Meanwhile, Fernando Martinez, who heads the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council, said in the same forum that the campaign against illegal drugs has shifted focus from the reduction of demand and supply to prevention and rehabilitation.
Martinez said that of the estimated 13,000 “surrenderers” in Negros Oriental during the “Tokhang” anti-illegal drug campaign of the Philippine National Police during the past administration, more than 6,000 of them have “graduated” from the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP). (PNA)
