ILOILO City – In the month of April, Western Visayas policemen conducted 63 antidrug operations and arrested 78 drug suspects – down from an average of 100 arrests made in previous months, data from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) showed.
The month of March registered the highest number of arrests – 174 from 124 antidrug operations.
From December 2017 to May 21, 2018 PRO-6 recorded 1,412 arrests 491 antidrug operations.
This month (as of May 21), 76 drug personalities have so far been caught in 49 operations.
According to outgoing regional police director Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, a lot of recent events needed his men’s focus such as the Capiztahan Festival in the province of Capiz, Panaad sa Negros Festival in Negros Occidental, the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, and the closure of Boracay Island.
“Nakatutok talaga ang tao natin sa closure ng Boracay. We also mobilized thousands of our policemen for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections,” said Binag.
He, however, stressed that crime incidents in the region dropped.
Binag also said the drop in drug-related arrests could be attributed to the fleeing of suspects.
“Some of our targets already left their places. Now we are busy identifying new drug personalities for massive operations,” he said.
Binag has been given a new assignment – acting director of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Management based in Camp Crame.
Friday last week the PNP announced the reorganization of its top brass prompted by the recent retirement of police generals.
The reshuffle, ordered by the PNP’s oversight committee, was also due to the rule to keep regional director posts for a maximum of two years.
Binag was one of those affected by the revamp although he marked his first year as regional director only this May 15.
PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao was named officer-in-charge of the regional police office. Today is the formal turnover at Camp Delgado, the headquarters of the PRO-6 in Iloilo City.
Bulalacao had served as deputy director of the PNP’s Logistics Support Service and Chief of Staff of the Civil Security Group, assistant chief of the Firearms and Explosives Office, and police provincial director of Cavite.
Bulalacao is a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s (PMA) Maringal Class of 1988.
Taking over Bulalacao’s post as PNP spokesperson / acting chief of the PNP Public Information Office is Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr. who previously served as Aklan police director.
Durana also belonged to the PMA Maringal Class of 1988./PN
