Illegal drug trade reaches both ends of the classroom

By Glazyl M. Jopson and Jennifer P. Rendon

A school guard in Bacolod City found sachets of suspected shabu at the exit gate on Monday: 30 grams of suspected shabu, valued at PHP 204,000, inside the bag of a 17-year-old Grade 9 student with no record of school offenses.

That same evening, police in Iloilo City arrested a 37-year-old part-time college instructor at his home in Lapuz after he allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu to an undercover officer for PHP 12,000.

The two cases are not linked, but taken together they trace how far the illegal drug trade has reached into the education sector — a minor whom police believe may have been used as an unwitting courier, and an educator whom police tag as a supplier.

THE STUDENT

The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region, or PRO-NIR, said a guard at a public high school in Barangay Banago noticed suspicious items in the student’s bag during a routine inspection at the exit gate.

In a radio interview, Police Lt. Benjo Ballo Allo, chief of Police Station 3, said another student had alerted the guard that the minor allegedly possessed a firearm.

The inspection turned up no gun, but the guard found two plastic sachets containing the suspected shabu and reported the discovery to Police Station 3, which responded with the City Intelligence Unit.

Ballo Allo said investigators would determine whether the minor was a victim of “tripping,” noting that the student had no record of offenses at school.

Investigators are tracing the source of the suspected drugs and determining whether other people were involved.

The child, a resident of Barangay 2, was placed in protective custody and turned over to the Social Development Center under laws governing children in conflict with the law.

Under Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, a child older than 15 but younger than 18 is exempt from criminal liability unless the child acted with discernment, and must be turned over to a social welfare office within eight hours of apprehension.

THE INSTRUCTOR

In Iloilo City, the suspect known as alias Mark was collared in a buy-bust operation at Barangay Jalandoni Estate, Lapuz, by the Iloilo City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit, in coordination with the Iloilo Maritime Police Station, the ICPO Special Weapons and Tactics Team, and the Iloilo City Police Station 8.

Police recovered 10 more sachets and two knot-tied plastic bags of suspected shabu after the sale.

Captain Roque Gimeno III, ICPO-CDEU chief, said the seized shabu weighed around 200 grams with a standard drug price of PHP 1,360,000.

The suspect resisted arrest but was subdued, police said.

He had been under police monitoring for some time but remained elusive until Monday’s operation.

The suspect previously taught Criminology students at a university in Iloilo City but was separated from that employment amid questions over his activities, according to police, and later transferred as a part-time instructor to a college in the city.

Gimeno said other arrested drug personalities and informants pointed to the suspect as their source of illegal drugs.

The suspect, who has no prior criminal arrest, is detained and faces charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

A WIDER NET

The two cases capped a week of seizures across Negros Island.

Authorities confiscated about 55 grams of suspected shabu valued at PHP 374,000 in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 2, Bais City, Negros Oriental, on Sunday, arresting a 29-year-old man known as alias “Nick” who had previously completed probation for a drug offense.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Negros Island Region also seized PHP 741,200 worth of suspected shabu in separate operations in Negros Occidental last week — 53 grams from a 42-year-old man in San Carlos City on July 16, and 56 grams from a 60-year-old woman in Barangay 2, Bacolod City, on July 15.

In a statement, Police Brig. Gen. Romano Cardiño, PRO-NIR director, said the incident in Banago highlighted the vital role of school security personnel.

“Our schools must remain safe spaces for learning and development,” Cardiño said.

He called for stronger collaboration among schools, parents, communities, and law enforcement agencies to protect young people from illegal drugs, and said children involved in such incidents would be treated according to the law, with consideration for their rights, welfare, and rehabilitation.