Reason why illegal drugs continue to proliferate

TACLOBAN CITY- The continued proliferation of illegal drugs in he region ‘mirrors’ the non-function of anti-drug council in the barangay level.
Thus said Kenneth Joey Balase, regional focal person of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s barangay anti-drug abuse council (Badac) program.
Balase said that while they don’t have a solid figure to back up on their claim, majority of the region’s 4,390 Badacs are ‘organized but are not functioning’ according to their mandate.
“Based in our observation, we can say that Badacs are not functioning according to the purpose for which they were created as illegal drugs continue to proliferate in the barangay (level). It is in the barangays where these illegal drugs are being sold,” Balase said.
“The non-function of our Badacs serves as a mirror why there still illegal drugs proliferating,” he added.
He, however, cited the case of Barangays 44 and 77, both in Tacloban City, which have a functioning anti- illegal drug council which was mainly credited why these villages were among the first barangays in the country to be declared as drug-cleared.
The anti-drug council in the barangays is a mandatory-created council under the Local Government Code which is supposed to serve as the first line of defense in the fight against illegal drugs in the country.
Balase, however, said that they are dismayed that while all the 4,390 barangays in the region have existing Badacs, they were just organized for compliance purposes.
“This is the region why we are strengthening our information dissemination campaign on Badacs. That a Badac should be organized not only for the sake of compliance purposes but to help in the campaign against illegal drugs,” he said.
Balase said that sanctions are to be meted to a barangay which has its Badac but is not functioning.
“The members could either be charged for negligence or withdrawal of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) share of the said barangay,” he said.
He, however, said that not a single barangay has been meted either of the sanction mentioned.
The barangay chairman serves as the chair of the Badac with a village councilor as the vice chair with four members. The town or city police chief serves as the council’s adviser.
The government under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is currently pursuing a massive anti-drug operations never seen in previous administrations of the country.
Balase said that because of this heightened anti-illegal drug campaign of the Duterte administration, the function of a Badacs plays a significant role to eliminate the proliferation of the illegal drugs.

By: Joey Gabieta

TACLOBAN CITY- Aside from poor health, the other reason why former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos appears not liking to visit her home province of Leyte is due to her ‘depression’ on what happened to Olot Mansion located in Tolosa town.
This was revealed by her elder daughter, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos who was in the city Tuesday(April 17) for an speaking engagement.
The young Marcos said that to help their mother somehow overcome her sadness, they will do something about the 42-hectare beach front property.
“She is not happy to travel these days because her left knee is really bothering her and she does not like to use a wheelchair. I think, she’s also a little bit depressed kasi yung Olot, there has nothing left. So we have to do something for her para mawala ang kanyang lungkot sa Olot,” The Ilocos Norte governor told members of the media during a press conference held at the VIP Lounge of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport, here.
The structures inside the sprawling property located in Barangay Olot, Tolosa town, were totally destroyed when super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ hit Leyte on November 8, 2013.
The property consisted of a seven-room residential mansion;14-room guest mansion; a pavilion which could accommodate 1,000 people and a nine-hole golf course designed by legendary Jack Nicklaus.
Also washed out by Yolanda were several fabulous gowns and signature shoes of the former first lady and silver wares and some paintings.
The last time the Marcos widow visited Leyte was on November 8, 2014, the first year anniversary of Yolanda’s onslaught.
She did not visit the property though her children, Bongbong and Imee, went there.
Asked what exactly the plan of the family about the destroyed property, Gov. Marcos declined to say.
“We’ll talk about it but we’re not quite certain (on what to do). So we’ll not reveal,” she said.
The property was among the sequestered properties of the Marcoses in Leyte.
But sometimes in 2008, the Supreme Court issued an order allowing Marcos to retake the property.
The Romualdezes traces their roots at Tolosa, a sleepy town more than 20 kms away from Tacloban City, where the family continue to yield political clout. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

PALO, Leyte – The top official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) urged the voters on the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections not to vote candidates who are into illegal drugs.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino, who graced the inauguration of their regional office at Government Center, this town, Wednesday (April 18), also said that if he has his way, he would publicize the names of barangay officials who are into illegal drug trade but would wait instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte on this issue.
Aquino said that he is appealing to the barangay and even SK voters to reject candidates for the May 14 balloting who are into illegal drugs.
This way, the barangays would be freed from illegal drugs and attain the goal of Mr. Duterte to have a drug-free Philippines.
Of the 4,930 villages in the region, 2,952 of them are affected by illegal drug trade.
About 1,618 were already cleared with the remaining 934 villages still to be cleared from the proliferation of illegal substance.
Of the six provinces in the region, Southern Leyte was the first to be declared as drug-cleared while four of the seven cities (Tacloban, Ormoc, Baybay and Maasin) were already declared as drug-cleared.
Aquino, meantime, disclosed that based on their watch list, 274 barangay officials are considered to be on the illegal drug trade.
The figure, however, is lower compared to the 289 barangay officials under the list of Malacañang.
He said that while he would like to publicize the names of these barangay officials who are into illegal drug trade, he would still wait for the President to do it.
“Hinihintay ko ang, ang order sa amin ng Department of Interior and Local Government or maybe the President,” Aquino added.
“(But)if I will have my own way and the President orders it, I will publish the names of the village officials involved in illegal drugs so that their constituents will know and they will not vote them,” he added.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The police are intensifying their monitoring on the entry of illegal drugs in Leyte, following reports that the Espinosa group have resumed its illegal drug operations.
Senior Superintendent Norberto Tuazon, Leyte police provincial director, told Leyte Samar Daily Express that they could not confirm about the report though they are closely monitoring movements in Albuera relative to illegal drugs proliferation.
Albuera is the hometown of self-confessed illegal drug lord Kerwin Espinosa whose late father, Rolando Espinosa, was once its mayor.
The young Espinosa is now detained at Camp Crame.
S/Supt. Tuazon said that they are keeping a tighter watch on the entry of illegal drugs in Leyte, especially in the town of Albuera.
The police official added that they are closely monitoring the Espinosa group and also all terminals, ports, airports and even clubs and establishments to ensure that illegal drugs will not reach the town of Albuera and other areas in the region.
Leyte, according to Tuazon, is merely a transshipment point for illegal drugs as they have not monitored any presence of illegal drug laboratories in the area.
He also claimed that the strict enforcement and successful implementation of Oplan Double Barrel campaign resulted in the drop in the supply of illegal drugs in the province.
“We are winning the war against illegal drugs,” Tuazon said.
He, however, did not provided any data to support on his claim.
(JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

TACLOBAN CITY- Slowly, they are seeing a ray of hope on the electoral protest filed by her brother against Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo.
Thus expressed Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, referring to the ongoing recount of votes for the 2016 vice presidential race where her brother, Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ narrowly lost to Robredo by over 200,000 votes.
“It’s been an uphill struggle for us but with the start of the counting, may liwanag na sa dilim kahit papaano. We’re pushing very hard, we’re hopeful that this will proceed and it looks like slowly we are inching towards our goal,” the governor said during a media interaction Tuesday(April 17) at the VIP Lounge of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport.
“Our family is just pushing for the protest. It’s been a while. This is what we’ve wanted for the last two years and it’s only right because we prayed for this; that the recount of ballots pushes through” added Marcos.
Marcos was in Tacloban for a series of speaking engagement but failed to attend some of them due to delayed flight from Manila.
The Ilocos Norte said that they are positive that his brother will win on the election protest that he filed against Robredo.
Bongbong lost to Robredo, candidate of the Liberal Party, by about 263,473 votes.
Marcos claimed that they were cheated reason he initiated the protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
Meantime, Imee said that she is seriously considering of running for a Senate seat in next year’s elections.
“Napapagusapan sa pamilya naming dahil sa protesta ni Bongbong, its taking forever. Its two years na, nothing happens. My mother, my brother and I are concerned that somebody should run for a national office in next year’s national election,” she said.
She said that she’s been visiting the country to get the feel of the people and to see what’s happening outside her province.
Marcos is now on her third and last term as governor of Ilocos Norte. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The last day of the filing of the certificates of candidacy for the May 14 elections appeared to be uneventful, at least at the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), this city.
This was because only, as of noon, about 200 candidates, both for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) posts, filed their documents.
In contrast, there was a ‘massive’ turn out of filers on Wednesday (April 18) which was due to the belief of the filers that it would bring them luck as they aspire for village posts.
The deadline for the filing of the CoC for those who want to run for this year’s village elections is at 5 pm with no deadline set by the Comelec.
According to lawyer Ma. Goretti Cañas, city elections officer, the perceived lucky day or April 18, there were 902 candidates who trooped to their office to file their respective CoC.
“That day was really our peak day. They believed that April 18, having an eight number which is considered to be a lucky number to some, thus, there was a massive turn out of candidates who filed their certificates of candidacy,” Cañas said.
“So this last day of filing, we anticipate that we will not have a big turnout of candidates who will file their CoCs,” she added.
Since the start of the filing of the CoC last April 14 until noon of Friday, there were already 2,957 individuals who filed their CoCs for the barangay posts while 2,105 candidates filed their CoCs seeking for SK posts.
For Tacloban City, Eastern Visayas’ regional capital, up for grabs for both barangay and youth elections are 138 posts for chairpersons and 966 for councilors.
Among the candidates in this year’s elections are some media workers.
Among them is Mark Escol, who is on his last and third term as a councilor of Brgy.59, who is running for village chair.
Escol, who is a radio broadcaster of Magic FM, said that he want to serve more his people, adding that there was a ‘clamor from his constituents’ to run for their village top posts.
For Antonia Mendasa,55, she was egged on to run as a councilor in their village by her cousin, Pedro Ampatin who, incidentally, is in jail since last year due to illegal drugs possession.
“He asked me to run because he believed in me; that I have what it takes to become a leader in our village. He also asked me to help rid out illegal drugs in our village,” Mendasa, mother to four and presently the health service point officer of their village, Brgy. 77.
Meantime, Lourdes Bernadas, incumbent village councilor of Brgy.29, her family asked her mother, Sofia, who is serving on her second term as a councilor not to run in this year’s elections.
“She is already 83 years old. That’s why, we have asked her not to seek for reelection and just allowed me to seek for my second term,” Bernadas said.
Cañas said that so far, 10 candidates have withdrawn their CoCs due to their being not registered voters with their respective villages, or in one case involving an SK candidate who decided to run for the chairmanship from his original plan to just seek for a council seat.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)