461 druggies surrender in Mountain Province

By Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- Provincial police director Supt Cornelio Comila  reported a total of 461 drug surrenderees during the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting here saying that of the 461 surrenderees were 355 shabu users and the rest,  users of marijuana and seven women.

Comila said of 461 surrenderees 18 were drug pushers.

Drug surrenderees come from municipalities of Bauko, Bontoc, Sagada, Paracelis, Tadian, Sabangan, and Sadanga though reports from Barlig and Besao still have to be validated, Comila said.

Comila reported that Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey shall be involving surrenderees from this capital town’s waste segregation program; and Bauko Mayor Abraham Akilit  to let surrenderees from Bauko get involved in the municipality’s nursery seeding activities. Paracelis town mayor Avelino Amangyen shall be letting surrenderees get involved in the town’s barangay  peace keeping action teams (BPAT). Other town mayors are reported to require drug surrenderees to regularly report at respective police stations.

Technical Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) provincial director Gabriel Cayacay said in a separate press conference that TESDA offers skills trainings and surenderees can avail of these. Cayacay urges surrenderrees to approach TESDA officers here at Bontoc for their training requests.

In same PPOC meeting, Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan encouraged Provincial employees to undergo drug tests.   

Police senior inspector Emilia Calixto of the PNP provincial crime and forensic laboratory here  said drug testing machines are needed to fully provide results of drug tests.

Currently, PNP-provincial police still have to refer to the regional crime lab to confirm drug tests initially administered in the Province’s available drug testing equipment.

In same meeting, Lt Col Eugenio Osias of the 81st IB of the Philippine Army said drug eradication operations were a major thrust of the PA.