Sapitula to police chiefs: Sustain enthusiasm to fight drugs
LINGAYEN—Police efforts to keep barangays drug-free after being declared officially cleared are more difficult.
This phase in the war on drugs in the region was acknowledged by the director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 1 prompting him to echo his challenge to the police to sustain their enthusiasm in the fight against illegal drugs.
“My challenge to the drug-cleared barangays and municipalities is to maintain being drug-free because it is more difficult to stay (that way),” P/Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula told The PUNCH in an interview.
He reminded police stations whose areas had been drug-cleared that they will have to go back to the first steps towards clearing operations if confirmed resurgence of illegal drug activities in a barangay is reported.
Even with only some five percent of the more than 3,000 barangays in Region 1 to be drug-cleared, Sapitula said, continuing operations will already be more difficult.
So far, no resurgence has been reported in any of the cleared barangays.
To sustain it, he said the police have to keep going back to the barangays to remind the barangay folk that the situation continues to be monitored.
“They (police) should go back, visit the communities most of the time,” he intoned. (Eva Visperas)
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