ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) has insisted that no organized drug groups or drug lords are currently operating in Western Visayas, despite the seizure of P83 million worth of illegal drugs in just two months.
PRO-6 director Brigadier General Jack Wanky emphasized that law enforcement efforts, bolstered by strong community cooperation, have prevented the resurgence of drug syndicates in the region.
“We have not monitored any drug groups or drug lords at this time. Our success in recent drug seizures is largely due to the public’s trust and the information shared by our assets and tipsters,” said Wanky.
He explained that some local ports in the region are being used as transshipment points for illegal drugs, but timely intelligence and swift police response have thwarted distribution efforts.
Wanky attributed the absence of large drug syndicates to the neutralization of key figures in the past, notably Richard Prevendido and Melvin Odicta, both based in Iloilo City.
Prevendido, who led the notorious Prevedido drug group and carried a P1-million bounty, was killed in a police operation on Sept. 2, 2017, in a rented house at Landheights Subdivision, Barangay Balabago, Jaro, Iloilo City. He was shot after allegedly resisting arrest.
A year earlier, Odicta and his wife Meriam were gunned down at the Jetty Port in Barangay Caticlan, Malay, Aklan on Aug. 29. The suspects behind the double murder remain unidentified.
Despite the absence of major drug groups, PRO-6 continues to intensify its anti-drug campaign. From January to February 2025, police operations across the region resulted in the seizure of P83 million worth of shabu and the arrest of 678 drug personalities – the biggest recorded haul in the region to date.
The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) led the operations with P26 million worth of confiscated drugs, followed by the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) with a combined haul of P17 million./PN
