In Palayan City summit, Nueva Ecija towns declare war on drugs

PALAYAN CITY—Nueva Ecija towns and government agencies banded together to wage war on illegal drugs at an Aug. 29 summit here that drew thousands of participants, said Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas.

A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) report said Nueva Ecija ranks second next to Pampanga in Central Luzon among provinces with growing numbers of villages where drug-related cases have been documented.

Cuevas rallied support for a covenant that would draw everyone’s commitment against illegal drugs.

“We are all involved, so we must all act now. We cannot wait for illegal drugs to destroy our families and our society. Destroying the specter of illegal drugs is everyone’s responsibility,” she said.

Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali said the provincial government would allocate P10 million from its peace and order fund to help in the antidrug campaign.

He said 70 percent of inmates of the provincial jail face drug-related charges.

Peñaranda Mayor Ferdinand Abesamis, chapter president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, said all of the province’s towns support the drive.

According to the PDEA report, 189 of 849 villages in Nueva Ecija have been vulnerable to illegal drugs. In Pampanga, 193 out of 505 villages are affected; Tarlac, 159 out of 511 villages; Bulacan, 97 out of 569 villages; Bataan, 94 out of 237 villages; Zambales, 72 of 230 villages; and Aurora, 42 of 151 villages.

“This is a war against attempts to invade our province with illegal drugs,” Abesamis said, adding that illegal drugs syndicates know no borders in their operation.

But the government will need better incentives for local enforcers who fight this war, said Interior Undersecretary Peter Irving Corvera.

“Although Republic Act No. 9165 (the 2002 Dangerous Drugs Act) states that both the informant and law enforcers in successful raids should be rewarded, it is not very clear why this provision is not being

implemented,” Covera said.

“Under the present setup, only civilian informers are allowed to get P75,000 for every kilo of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) seized or a maximum of P2 million for any information that could lead to a successful drug bust,” he said.

Citing another government report, Corvera said majority of drug users experiment with all forms of illegal narcotics, although shabu remains the drug of choice among 62 percent of users. Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon