Tourism cover for weed trade: Sadanga mayor

SADANGA, Mountain Province -- The flourishing tourism industry has become a convenient cover for the drug trade in the Cordillera, according to the mayor of this remote town.

Sadanga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan bared this citing the arrest of people posing as tourists to buy and transport marijuana within the Tinglayan, Kalinga-Bontoc-Sagada, Mountain Province route.

“Tourism is becoming a good cover for the marijuana trade, “he said. 

"The fast increasing number of apprehension, and most likely more 'un-apprehended' ones within these areas show that many 'tourists' frequent these places to buy marijuana either in raw leaves or in processed form as oil or 'chocolate'."

Ganggangan said this is the reason the local government is never promoted tourism in Sadanga.

It been observed, he said, that many tourists who have been apprehended for marijuana were on their return trip from the places where the said route passes.

The latest apprehension last week along the Bontoc, Mountain Province-Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga Road revealed a well-organized syndicate from Metro Manila which involves even minors as couriers. 

On Feb. 27, anti-drug operatives nabbed two residents of Antipolo City with over 4.1 kilos of marijuana bricks worth P420,000 at a checkpoint in Barangay Anabel, Sadanga.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera said drug couriers now transact directly with marijuana dealers in the Cordillera.

Drug dealers usually pose as tourists pretending to visit places or to see famous traditional tattoo artist Apo Whang-od (Maria Oggay).

"Whatever benefits derived from tourism is not worth the damage this marijuana trade and probably other illegal drug trade is inflicting to the public," Ganggangan said.