Deretsahan
The shabu lab in Camiling
By Bebot Villar
IT was a good thing that the composite team of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) discovered that big clandestine shabu laboratory in Camiling, Tarlac last week.
Aba, napaka-high tech ng mga equipment ng laboratory dahil walang sisingaw na amoy habang niluluto nila ang shabu! Residents in the area would not have known that it was a shabu laboratory because it looked like a plastics factory surrounded by a high fence, in the middle of a residential area. Nobody suspected it to be a shabu laboratory because there was no smell and the plants nearby did not wilt.
If you recall, the shabu laboratory in Naguilian, La Union was discovered in 2008 partly because of the foul odor that it emitted, arousing the suspicion of residents in the village. Although the place was disguised as a piggery farm, the people wondered why it did not smell like pigs’ dung at parang may kakaibang amoy siya.
Based on NBI’s estimates, the shabu lab in Camiling could manufacture 100 kilos of shabu every day! And the seized raw materials could have produced P3 billion worth of the illegal drugs! Ito na siguro ang pinakamalaking shabu lab na nadiskubre sa ating bansa so far.
At ang mga taong nahuli doon? Mga Tsino. As usual, di marunong mag-English o kaya’y mag-Tagalog. Fresh from China, ‘ika nga. Kung bakit sila nandito? Tama, dahil walang death penalty dito kung sakali mang mahuli sila. Baka nga, makalusot pa at i-deport na lamang sila.
Sa totoo lang, when I heard the news of the raid, agad kong naisip ang mahal kong lalawigan ng Pangasinan. Isang tumbling lang kasi, Mangatarem na! Nangangamba tuloy ang ilan nating mga kababayan na baka naman sa susunod, sa Pangasinan na madidiskubre ang isang shabu lab! I hope they will not commit the mistake of building one in Pangasinan. If they do, tiyak gigiyerahin sila ng ating mga kababayan!
Fortunately, our law enforcers in the province confirmed there is still no indication of any shabu lab operating here. With the reactivation ng mga anti-drug abuse councils in the whole province, monitoring will not be too difficult.
* * * *
Last week, five persons in Villasis were arrested matapos silang mabistong nagpa-pot session. Sa Dagupan City naman, limang katao rin ang nahuli nang bulagain sila ng mga pulis sa kanilang pot session.
Drug use and drug pushing in Pangasinan are still quite alarming that local government officials are finally beginning to worry. At dapat lang pagtuunan ng tuloy-tuloy na attention at aksyon ang problemang ito. Hindi puwedeng photo-op lamang o PR lang.
Even just minimizing the proliferation of illegal drugs in a big province like Pangasinan is not easy but illegal drug traffickers cannot and will not win this war! Napakarami na rin nating nahuli at napakarami na ring nakakulong. So are we winning the war against illegal drugs? Of course, we are! But the war continues as long as illegal drugs are here!
They may succeed initially pero tiyak namang sa susunod, timbog na sila. No one can a concerned citizenry! In any neighborhood, there will always be at least one person who will call the attention of the authorities if he or she suspects something illegal in the place. And the authorities are now just one text message away!
Kaya nga patuloy ang panawagan natin sa lahat: Be involved. Let us stop illegal drugs!
* * * *
There was a hostage situation sa Asingan last week. Nakakaawa naman iyong walang muwang na 11-years old na bata na na-hostage at napatay ng hostage taker. Napatay din ng police iyong hostage-taker.
I was informed by some residents na malala na din ang problema ng illegal drugs doon kung kaya’t nagaganap ang mga krimeng katulad ng hostage-taking na ito. Bangag daw iyong hostage-taker at the time. In fact, unang namaril ang hostage-taker sa palengke bago niya hinostage iyong bata. Imagine, palengke! Mabuti na lang at iyong pakay lang niyang barilin ang tinamaan niya at hindi na nandamay pa ng ibang tao.
Although masasabi nating isang isolated incident ang nangyaring hostage drama, it can happen again if the proliferation ng illegal drugs in Asingan continues.
Asingan officials should not just sit there and do nothing. It’s time they realize the threats posed by illegal drugs use and trafficking in their town. At the same time, tignan na rin why some people are armed. Kailanan na din ng high police visibility in public places, like market and schools.
Huwag na nilang hintayin pang maganap ang isa pang hostage drama bago sila kumilos!
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