[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’168 junkies rehabilitated; youngest is 12′ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=”]
Sunday, March 12, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
BACOLOD City – A total of 168 drug surrenders in Negros Occidental completed the community-based rehabilitation program initiated by the provincial government and Philippine Army, records of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC) showed.
The youngest participant was a 12-year-old boy while the oldest was a 47-year-old.
Late last year, the provincial government organized a series of wellness camps with the 303rd Infantry Brigade attended by moderate drug users who surrendered through the Oplan Tokhang of the Philippine National Police.
The four wellness camps were held in August, September, November, and December.
The surrenderers came from the cities of Bago, Escalante, Himamaylan, Kabankalan, La Carlota, San Carlos, Silay, and Sipalay and the municipalities of Calatrava, Cauayan, Hinigaran, Ilog, Isabela, Manapla, Murcia, and Pontevedra.
PADAC provided assistance to various cities and municipalities with localized community-based rehabilitation programs. These were Cadiz, Sagay, Kabankalan, Victorias, Silay, San Carlos, Murcia, and Ilog.
Bacolod City also patterned its own community-based rehabilitation program from the provincial model.
Meanwhile, a total of 84 villages in Negros Occidental have been declared cleared of illegal drugs while 19 barangays are unaffected.
According to the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO), of the 601 barangays in the province, 498 could be considered “drug-affected”, 475 “slightly affected”, and 23 “moderately affected.”
The police made these determinations based on the assessment and parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board.
In 2016, the NOCPPO arrested 15,835 drug suspects. Of these, 4,178 were apprehended before the Oplan Tokhang implementation while 11,657 were arrested since the intensified war on drugs started last July.
Also in the past year, 565 drug operations were conducted, resulting in the arrest of 941 drug suspects. This was higher compared to the 404 operations conducted and 645 persons arrested in 2015.
A total of 1,435 drug-related cases were filed in 2016 compared to only 843 in 2015. (PNA)
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
