By RUBY P. SILUBRICO
ILOILO City — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) warned students who will be going back to school next month against using illegal drugs.
Students will be most vulnerable to drug dealers who would try to persuade them to use or, worse, sell illicit substances, according to Regional Director Paul Ledesma.
Drug dealers will most likely post themselves in stores and boarding houses near schools, Ledesma said.
In these areas, “mahapos lang para sa ila (drug dealers) magbaligya droga sa mga estudyante,” the PDEA chief said.
Ledesma said PDEA operatives, in cooperation with other law enforcement bodies, will zero in on these areas.
“We are now ready for the opening of classes,” he said over a radio interview. “We have deployed personnel to monitor drug dealers who mingle with students in schools.”
The Iloilo City Anti-Drug Abuse Council has created the Iloilo City Task Force on Drugs Awareness in preparation for the opening of classes in June.
The task force is composed of PDEA, Philippine National Police, Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Ledesma said they have already coordinated with DepEd and CHED in conducting seminars and disseminating information for students about the ill effects of illegal drugs and their criminal liabilities once caught possessing and/or using drugs.
These activities will make law enforcers closer to students and allow them to encourage the youth to avoid illegal drugs, he said.
“We urge them (students) to help us identify drug dealers or users in their schools,” said the PDEA regional director.
Ledesma said shabu is still the most used drug, followed by marijuana.
PDEA and PNP are currently concentrating on two “drug havens” in Iloilo City — barangays Bakhaw in Mandurriao district and Desamparados in Jaro.
These areas are reportedly where drug dealers mainly source their supply.
As of Thursday, 148 of the 180 barangay captains in this city have already submitted lists of suspected drug dealers and users in their respective villages./PN
