5 Dagupan barangays “critically affected”
ON ILLEGAL DRUGS
ALL the 31 barangays of Dagupan City are “drug affected” with five of these considered as critically affected based on the parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) headed by Secretary Antonio Villar Jr.
Supt. Christopher Abrahano, chief of police of Dagupan, identified the critically affected villages as Bonuan Binloc, Bonuan Gueset, Pantal (particularly Sitio Aling), Barangay II and III (particularly Nueva Street), and Lucao.
Bonuan Binloc was earlier named by the DDB as the most affected barangay not only in Dagupan City but the whole of Pangasinan
All five are currently under tight watch and the five groups of drug syndicates suspected to be operating in the city are now being tracked down by the police.
“Under the DDB Regulation No. 2, series of 2007, it is enough that there’s one user in a barangay to consider the area as drug affected,” Abrahano explained.
With this as the parameter, all the barangays in Dagupan are considered drug affected.
But for purposes of the concentrated anti-drug efforts, Abrahano stressed that the police identified only five barangays as critically affected.
He bared these facts when he briefed members of the Dagupan City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (DCADAC), which was convened on September 24 by Mayor Belen Fernandez.
January to August this year, the local police arrested 91 persons, comprising 74 males and 17 females, in 43 separate operations in the City. The suspects are from 20 to 29 years old.
The arrests led to confiscation of 225.451 grams of shabu and 236.991 grams of marijuana, the two most commonly used in Dagupan.
“This may seem so small but this is the biggest in the region as far as street level pushing is concern,” he added.
The proliferation of the drug trade in the city is aggravated by the fact that prices for shabu are cheaper than elsewhere due to the abundant supply.
“In the whole region, the cheapest drug is from Pangasinan,” Abrahano revealed.
The major sources of drugs filtering into Pangasinan are reportedly from Region III, Region IV, and Metro Manila.
Abrahano recommended the implementation of the Barangay Drug-Clearing Operations which includes the activation of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs), BADAC Auxiliary Teams and the youth in each barangay.
Present during the meeting were City Prosecutor Joven Maramba; Edilberto Abalos of the Department of Education; Belen Montessa of the Rotary Club of Uptown Dagupan; City Administrator Farah Decano; City Legal Officer George Mejia; Dr. Leonard Carbonel, City Health Officer, Linda Fernandez of the city social welfare and development office; City Information Officer Rhee Fer Hortaleza; and Dr. Rosalina Caoile, Sonia Carreon, and Eugene Catubig from the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Bonuan Binloc.
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