Iloilo police lament barangay officials tied to drug trade

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) described as “deeply saddening” the arrest of barangay officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs, stressing that local leaders are expected to spearhead anti-drug efforts in their communities.

Police Col. Bayani Razalan, the IPPO director, said eight barangay officials in Iloilo province have been arrested this year for alleged drug-related offenses.

The arrested officials include three barangay captains, one Sangguniang Kabataan chairperson, and four barangay kagawads.

The latest arrest involved an incumbent barangay kagawad in Lambunao, Iloilo, who was apprehended in a buy-bust operation on the afternoon of June 6.

The 31-year-old suspect, identified by police as a high-value individual, was arrested by operatives in Barangay Pajo.

Authorities seized about 30 grams of suspected shabu, the local term for methamphetamine, valued at PHP 204,000 from the suspect’s possession.

Razalan said the situation is particularly troubling because these officials also served as chairpersons and members of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC), which leads community-based anti-drug initiatives.

The BADAC is composed of barangay officials, barangay tanods, and representatives from various sectors.

BADACs were institutionalized under Department of the Interior and Local Government guidelines to lead drug-prevention, advocacy, and rehabilitation work at the village level, which makes the involvement of their own members especially sensitive.

“It is really saddening that barangay officials, who are supposed to be the frontline against illegal drugs in their respective barangays, are the ones involved,” Razalan said during a briefing on June 8.

Despite the arrests, Razalan said the IPPO does not consider the situation alarming in scale, noting that the number remains small relative to Iloilo province’s 43 local government units (LGUs) and 1,721 barangays.

“Figuratively, Iloilo province is composed of five districts and 43 LGUs, and we have a total of 1,721 barangays. If there are three officials involved and we percentage it to 1,700 barangays, it is not even one percent,” he said.

Razalan, however, said the police do not take the incidents lightly and continue to coordinate with LGUs through peace and order councils.

He added that the IPPO is monitoring elected barangay officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs, a number that remains in the single digits.

Razalan said there is no indication that a major local figure is behind the involvement of barangay officials in illegal drugs.

He added that most illegal drug supplies linked to arrested suspects originate outside Iloilo province, particularly from Metro Manila.

“They are transported via RORO through Caticlan and enter our area. It is seldom that supplies come from Cebu and Negros Occidental,” he said.

RORO refers to roll-on, roll-off ferry services, while Caticlan, a port in Aklan, is a common entry point into Panay Island.

“But we want to emphasize in the IPPO that we do not discriminate in the implementation of anti-illegal drug operations. Whoever you are, if you are engaged in illegal drugs, you will be arrested,” he added.

Razalan also confirmed allegations raised by an arrested barangay official regarding the existence of a warehouse allegedly used by drug syndicates.

“We cannot disclose the locations of those under monitoring but we see to it that before it reaches the victims, we see to it that it gets apprehended,” he said.