Bonuan Binloc, No.1 drug hub
78 DRUG-AFFECTED BARANGAYS IN PANGASINAN
DAGUPAN City may no longer simply be notorious for being a hub for illegal drug trading, but also home to a drug laboratory and or a major drug financier.
Secretary Antonio Villar Jr., chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), said Barangay Bonuan Binloc, tagged as the most seriously drug- affected barangay in Pangasinan, is suspected to be manufacturing illegal drugs.
“Our suspicion is that there may now be a drug laboratory in Bonuan Binloc. Why is it that they are not running out of drugs? Villar said in a talk to newsmen after his speech at the 115th commemoration of Philippine Independence Day in Dagupan.
“Imagine, one barangay is capable of putting down the entire Dagupan City,” he added.
Villar referred to a list of 78 drug-affected barangays in the province prepared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) covering the period January to date where Bonuan Binloc is on top and the only one classified under Category 1, which means the place is suspected to have a drug laboratory, a warehouse or a den.
“Truth is, drug problem worsens because many play blind, indifferent and callous,” he said.
BARANGAY OFFICIALS
Villar pointedly accused the barangay officials of Bonuan Binloc of sleeping on their job.
“Dapat ang kapitan at kagawad ay nakikipag-coordinate sa mga pulis. Eh, mukhang involved ang kapitan,” Villar told newsmen.
Pedro Gonzales is the incumbent kapitan in Bonuan Binloc, also home of former Speaker Jose de Venecia and his wife Fourth District Rep. Gina de Venecia,
Alarmed by the open peddling of illegal drugs even in broad daylight in her barangay, Rep. De Venecia, had already written the former city chief of police to address the problem but with little results.
She expressed confidence that Mayor-elect Belen Fernandez will finally make Dagupan drug-free.
Other drug-affected barangays in Dagupan are Bonuan Boquig, Bonuan Gueset and Lucao, which are all under Category 2, meaning it has at least one drug pusher or trafficker.
Based on the PDEA list, 76 barangays in Pangasinan are under Category 2 and only one under Category 3 where drug affectation is slight.
NEW LEADERSHIP
Villar is confident that with Acting Mayor Belen Fernandez, the mayor-elect of Dagupan, at the helm and with Superintendent Christopher Abrahano as chief of police, the drug problem in Dagupan will soon be eradicated.
Villar noted that Fernandez, a national awardee of DDB for organizing the first-ever “Barkada Kontra Droga” in Dagupan, was the only candidate in the May 13 elections who had a platform on making Dagupan a drug-free and corruption-free city.
Abrahano, meanwhile, was formerly an operations officer of PDEA.
Noting the gravity of the problem, Fernandez vowed to immediately reactivate the Dagupan Drug Abuse Coordinating Council (DADACC) which was inactive during the administration of outgoing Mayor Benjamin Lim.
She lamented that as vice mayor of Dagupan, she was not even asked to join DADACC when by law, it is the vice mayor who is supposed to head the body.
The incoming vice mayor of Dagupan is Councilor Brian Lim, son of the outgoing mayor.
“As mayor of Dagupan, I want to make Dagupan a drug-free city. With Secretary Villar and Congresswoman Gina De Venecia around, palagay ko, magagawa natin ito,” Fernandez said.
Meanwhile, Villar expressed hope that the dormitory facilities in the Region 1 Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center on Bonuan Binloc will be finished soon to accommodate the growing number of drug users who need immediate rehabilitation.
Villar stressed that while there should be a no-nonsense drive against illegal drug peddlers, there should be rehabilitation for drug users.
DDB contributed P10 million for the facility and has committed to give additional funds after the initial release is fully liquidated by the Region 1 Medical Center.
NO DRUG LAB
Abrahano, for his part, said it is unlikely that a drug laboratory is operating in Bonuan Binloc or in any other place in Dagupan.
He pointed out that the price of shabu in the city is still high at P9,000 per gram as compared to P5,000 per gram in other areas where the supply is not tight.
At the same time, he also conceded that the city is a consumer area.
“We are a consumer area. We have a market (for shabu) here,” said Abrahano indicating how heavily infected the city has become.
The illegal drugs filtering to Dagupan, he said, are coming from Metro Manila, brought here by members of a syndicate.
When Abrahano assumed office, the police and the PDEA seized more than 100 kilos of shabu during a raid in Bonuan early this year, an operation considered as the biggest drug bust ever in Dagupan.
Asked by newsmen if he believes somebody in power is protecting the proliferation of illegal drugs in Dagupan, Abrahano simply replied, “We will do what is expected of us. We will get all of them whoever they are.”
He also stressed that under his watch, none of his policemen are involved in illegal drugs and if anyone is caught, “we will throw the books on them”. –with report from Eva Visperas
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