Has Iloilo City erased the most shabulized tag?

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Still remember the time Iloilo City was being tagged by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte as the most shabulized area in the country?

Well, the city has somehow made strides in getting rid of that label.

No less than the chief of the Philippine National Police, General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, said Iloilo City’s illegal drug situation has improved from five years back.

But given that illegal drug arrests in the city were but a fraction compared to those in Luzon, does Iloilo City deserve the shabulized label?

Eleazar did not directly answer when asked if Iloilo City was indeed the most shabulized place back in 2016.

The country’s top cop was the guest of honor during the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6)’s celebration of the 120th Police Service Anniversary at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City on Thursday, October 7.

Instead, he said that they were a witness to the gargantuan problem of illegal drugs before the Duterte administration

“And no less than our President had made us all realize ang laking problemang ito. ‘Yung dating sinasabing kalagayan ng Iloilo noon ay ganoon rin sa napakaraming lugar sa buong bansa,” he said.

“Sa loob ng limang taon nq nagsama-sama tayo na pinagdaanan lahat itong mga programang ito, na bahagi nito ay mga pagsubok sa amin. We’ve learned a lot of lessons. All I can say is, not only Iloilo City but all places in the country have improved the situation, as far as illegal drugs is concerned,” he added.

When pressed if the label should have been “one of the most shabulized cities,” Eleazar again did not directly answer.

“Iloilo City has improved compared to years ago at yun din sa mas marami in the entire country,” he said stressing that they have gone through bumps and problems along the way.

Eleazar pointed out that the problem is not yet over.

But he cited that the whole-of-nation approach that the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) implemented has been of great help.

He also cited the drug rehabilitation and drug re-integration as more important programs, if not equally important, with law enforcement.

“With this concerted effort of all the agencies concerned, naging bahagi tayo na ang Iloilo City na dating tinagurian na kasama doon sa may malaking problema sa ilegal na droga ay nakita natin ang pagbabago,” he said.

While the country has not reached its dream of becoming drug-free, Eleazar said that we are now resilient as far as illegal drugs is concerned.

More than two years ago, the PRO-6 also declared that Iloilo has come a long way after being tagged as “most shabulized” citing numerous drug personalities who were apprehended or killed in the government’s war against illegal drugs.

The PRO-6 said that the city and province of Iloilo have greatly improved in terms of illegal drugs affectation.

It was in August 2016 when President Rodrigo Duterte publicly declared that Iloilo is the most shabulized in the country.

It was also at that time when Duterte repeatedly called out former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog for his alleged link to illegal drugs.

Duterte did not mellow in saying that Iloilo is the bedrock of illegal drugs, which earned the ire of most Ilonggos.

But a year after that, Duterte has acknowledged that Iloilo has gone from shabulized to “medyo wala na.”

The death of Melvin Odicta, Sr., who was once tagged as Western Visayas’s top drug personality, and his wife Meriam on Aug. 29, 2016 have apparently changed the “illegal drugs landscape” in the region.