Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo (center) is flanked by PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., and Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. at the rollout of the BIDA Program in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Dec. 12, 2022. (Photo from the Facebook account of the NCRPO Public Information Office)
MANILA, Philippines — In just a week, from Dec. 3 to 9, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) was able to seize at least P39.69 million worth of illegal drugs, Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, the NCRPO chief, said on Monday.
This was in line with a more holistic and multi-faceted approach to the anti-drug campaign.NCRPO units also arrested 384 street-level suspects and 114 more who were not on the drug watchlist.
They seized over 5,790 grams of suspected shabu and 2,074.32 grams of marijuana leaves in several operations in that one-week span and filed 357 cases.
Estomo enumerated the achievements of the NCRPO in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, during a program for the rollout of the “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” (BIDA) Program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Some government officials attended the event, led by Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Moro Virgilio Lazo.
“We commit to further intensify our campaign against illegal drugs in line with the DILG’s ‘BIDA’ program which aims to advocate a holistic approach to ultimately reduce community demand for this dangerous substance,” Estomo said.
“Anchored upon this program, NCRPO assures the public that we will endeavor to guarantee that metro cops are seen, appreciated, and felt, in this campaign through the delivery of extraordinary police service to the people of Metro Manila,” he added.
In the same event, the NCRPO also turned over drug dependents who had surrendered to the police to the Department of Health (DOH). They would undergo a Recovery Wellness Program under the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program of the DOH.
According to the NCRPO, 4,483 are expected to graduate from the rehabilitation programs by January 2023.
“Partnered with parish community-based rehabilitation program dubbed as ‘Sanlakbay,’ NCRPO aims to strengthen cooperation with this pastoral accompaniment program for drug dependents toward healing, recovery, and restoration,” the NCRPO said.
“Under these programs, enrolled drug dependents undergo spiritual and values formation, one-on-one and group counseling sessions, skills training, and livelihood opportunities, and sports, art, and culture development to transform lives, restore human dignity, and finally reintegrate drug dependents into their communities,” it added.
In his message, Azurin reiterated the marching orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to pursue cases against drug suspects while finding and eliminating the root causes of people’s attraction to illegal drugs.
“Let’s find out why they are selling prohibited drugs. We need to respond to the causes of why they are engaging in such illegal drugs. Find those high-value individuals,” Azurin said, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English.
“This is what our beloved Secretary Benjamin Abalos is addressing in his BIDA Program — because the PNP had been longing for a really honest-to-goodness anti-illegal drug campaign,” he added.