Stop or leave, PNP exec warns ‘narcopols’ in Calabarzon

LUCENA CITY — The new police director of Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region has warned “narcopoliticians” — or local officials linked to the illegal drug trade — of an intensified antidrug campaign in the region under his leadership.

“They better leave our region or stop their illegal activities,” Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, regional police director, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

 Watch list

Eleazar, former chief of the Quezon City police who assumed the region’s top police post on Tuesday, said he would meet with concerned government agencies and police officials to review Calabarzon’s drug watch list.

“We will validate if those narcopols previously listed are still involved in illegal drug activities. If they are, we will run after them,” he said.

However, Eleazar did not identify any narcopolitician on the drug watch list nor the provinces where they operate.

Last year, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency revealed the suspected involvement of five mayors and other local officials in Calabarzon in the illegal drug trade.

These officials have been stripped of their power and supervision over local police forces due to their alleged drug links.

Eleazar, in a speech during the turnover ceremony at Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna province on Tuesday, said the regional police would continue its campaign against illegal drugs, which is among the priorities of the Duterte administration and PNP chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.