ILOILO — Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. is pushing for the establishment of small operation centers at all ports of entry in Iloilo province to strengthen monitoring and prevent the entry of illegal drugs, as authorities acknowledge that trafficking persists despite the province’s near drug-cleared status.
Defensor said resolutions have already been approved by both the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC), which he chairs, authorizing the provincial government to fund and provide manpower for the proposed operation centers.
The governor explained that while sniffing dogs are currently deployed at ports, they are insufficient to cover all entry points, particularly roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ports that cannot be fully x-rayed, prompting the need to augment personnel and monitoring capabilities.
“We are willing to create or put up a small OpCen sa tanan nga ports of entry so that may monitoring, so that it can validate the intelligence work coming from the outside kay ang challenge sina dira indi ma-x-ray ang tanan nga ports, indi ma-x-ray ang roro, ti ang best effort naton ang sniffing dogs,” Defensor said.
Funding for the operation centers will be sourced from the provincial government’s peace and order budget, according to Defensor.
The proposal follows reports from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that buy-bust operations continue in the province, even though only one barangay has yet to be declared drug-cleared.
Defensor said drug trafficking in Iloilo does not appear to be driven by large, organized groups, but rather by smaller-scale entries that are difficult to completely eradicate, similar to the challenge faced during African swine fever (ASF) and COVID-19 border controls.
“That is what happened. May mga nagasulod pa gid. Based on our observation, indi amo na sia ka-organized pero may nagasulod nga gagmay. That is why during the last council meeting PPOC, ang plano naton sina, which already I think may resolution na, is that we will plug the holes, diin na sia naga-agi,” Defensor said.
“We want to implement something like naga-quarantine kita sang ASF kag COVID-19,” he added.
Despite the lingering problem, the governor said he remains satisfied with the overall performance of law enforcement agencies in the province’s anti-drug campaign.
Defensor also called for closer coordination with neighboring provinces of Capiz, Aklan, and Antique, which likewise have multiple ports of entry, to prevent the flow of illegal drugs into Panay Island.
“We do our best nga indi pagpasudlon. We start there kay ti waay na (shabu) laboratory sa probinsya, waay laboratory sa Panay. Waay ako sang nakita nga rason nga magpati ako nga may laboratory diri sa Panay. Buot silingon nagasulod,” Defensor said.
“Karon diin na naga-agi? Amo na ang pangitaon ta and we have started working with that together with the police, with our PDEA and the coast guard and all the members of council or PPOC,” he added.
Data from the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC) show that of Iloilo’s 1,721 barangays, 944 have been declared drug-cleared and 776 drug-free, or 99.94 percent cleared, with only Barangay Bulaqueña in Estancia remaining uncleared and currently receiving provincial government assistance./PN
