BACOLOD City – Twenty-five shanties, or hayob-hayob, were demolished at the Vendors’ Plaza in Barangay 12, Reclamation Area yesterday.
This came after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) dismantled an alleged drug den on Monday, Feb. 20, and arrested three suspects.
The City Enforcement Team of the City Legal Office and officials of Barangay 12, led by Punong Barangay Ely Alcantara Jr., conducted the demolition.
Most of the owners of the shanties were not residents of the barangay, Alcantara said.
They were only allowed to occupy the area during the onset of the pandemic to sell their crops, the village chief added.
Alcantara also said the Vendors’ Plaza was an abandoned building and had become a “white elephant”.
Meanwhile, arrested during the PDEA operation were Remia Espartero, 56, of Silay City, Negros Occidental; Benjie Panuncillo Despe, 37, of Barangay Singcang-Airport; and JC Dale Clair Monte, 35, of Barangay Alijis.
PDEA recovered 10 grams of suspected shabu worth P68,000 from the suspects, who would face charges for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Meanwhile, Alcantara has tasked barangay tanods to guard the area but would also request that the city deploy Public Order and Security Office personnel./PN
