‘PROBLEMATIC AREAS’: NegOcc, Bacolod still ‘narco hotspots’

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Nothing has changed.

The province of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City remain “problematic” areas when it comes to illegal drugs.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Region 6 (PDEA-6) regional director Alex Tablate said the coastlines of Negros Occidental have become ideal transshipment points for narcotics to and from Cebu and neighboring islands.

“Geographically, it’s near Cebu. Malapit din sa Masbate. Since, RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) operations had been unimpeded, mas madaling naipapasok ang supply,” he said.

And Bacolod City, being an urban area, has been one of the main distribution points.

“We can’t possibly 100 percent guard the coastline of Western Visayas. These distributors have also leveled-up their strategies to avoid interception,” he said.

But Tablate assured that PDEA’s supply reduction efforts have been continuous to thwart the entry of illegal drugs in the region.

In October alone, a big volume of illegal drugs was seized in Capiz and Bacolod City.

On Oct 13, two former drug offenders were arrested in a buy-bust operation at Purok Bolinao, Barangay 1, Bacolod City.

Alvin Cristales, 27, also of Purok Bolinao, Barangay 1, and Regina Escosio of Purok Lison, Barangay 1, Bacolod City yielded 1.25 kilos of shabu worth P8.5 million.

Three days before that, a 59-year-old butcher was arrested in a checkpoint operation at Barangay Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz.

Recovered from Roberto dela Cruz, a resident of Barangay San Jose, Roxas City, Capiz, was shabu worth P4 million.

Tablate believed that the big volume of illegal drugs in Western Visayas were all part of the “imported drugs” that were sneaked into the country through Luzon.

Meanwhile, Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) records showed that the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) and the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) conducted the most number of anti-illegal drug operations in 2021 and 2022.

From January 1 to Oct. 8, 2021, NOCPPO mounted 513 operations while BCPO conducted 453 operations.

The number is a far cry from Iloilo City Police Office’s (ICPO) 109 operations and IPPPO’s 81 operations.

NOCCPO was able to seize 3.75 kilos of shabu while BCPO had 3.47 kilos.

IPPO, on the other hand, seized 1.63 kilos, and ICPO with 1.002 kilos.

For the same period in 2022, NOCCPO conducted 523 operations that resulted in the arrest of 647 drug personalities and BCPO with 369 and 459 arrests.

On the other hand, ICPO did 126 while IPPO conducted 85 operations.