BACOLOD City – Councilor Ricardo Tan wondered why there was no barangay official in the city included in the drug list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Tan, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on police, security and jail management and penology, said he is “100 percent sure” illegal drug activities are still thriving in the villages of Bacolod.
He stressed that Bacolodnons must be vigilant and report to the police and the PDEA persons in their barangays who are selling and using prohibited drugs, especially officials.
Tan lauded PDEA for releasing the drug list just in time for the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on May 14.
He said it is “good to let the people know who among barangay officials were involved in illegal drug activities.”
Tan also commended PDEA for validating the names of those in the list so as to protect some family names.
He added that the agency must file charges against the drug suspects.
Only one village official from Western Visayas was included in the list – village chief Gemma Calzado of Kasingkasing, Molo, Iloilo City.
There are 207 village officials named to be allegedly linked to illegal drugs, 90 of them were village chiefs while 117 were councilmen.
The list was dominated by those from Region 5 or the Bicol Region, Cordillera Administrative Region and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao./PN
