Official protection of drugs in Dagupan

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THERE has been an unchecked and protected illegal drug trade that proliferated in Dagupan City over the past months.  How so?  There is official protection of illegal drug trade in the city.

The two successive raids of two drug dens in Bonuan Boquig and Bonuan Gueset by PDEA operatives (assisted by city police?) tell the whole story yet the Lim administration remains mum about it.

Mayor Brian Lim has not even launched an investigation of the barangay officials under whose jurisdiction the raided drug dens were operating.  By his (and city police chief P/Lt. Col. Abubakar Mangelen apparent inaction), drug syndicates activities in the city are obviously well-protected.

It is one thing to see mobile drug pushers operating clandestinely in the streets, it’s another to see drug dens operating in permanent locations with impunity 24/7.

That the Dagupan City Council also seems unmoved by the proliferation of illegal drugs in the city is just as alarming. Are there councilors into the drug protection racket as well?

In case the city officials have not learned one basic lesson: When drug-dealing shit hits the fan, the feces land on their faces. They can attempt to wipe them off their faces, but the stench will remain.

So, it’s not far-fetched to conclude that going by the two successful drug den raids, the drug syndicates operating in the city have been obviously enjoying official protection from powerful city officials. Question is: Who?

I also wonder what DILG city director Marilyn Laguipo is doing about this situation. Her big bosses at the regional and national HQ are adamant and uncompromising about the drug war of President Duterte. Does she even report the successful drug raids of dens in her jurisdiction?

Mr. Duterte would be aghast on knowing that the city of a known avid supporter is doing nothing to help him defeat the drug war in his own turf.

While it is the business of PDEA to lead in the drug war, it is the city officials’ business to know who’s operating in the city yet make no move to stop the locals known to them from operating in the drug trade, is telling enough.

The ideal situation for a community is to see the presence of PDEA redundant because the campaign is well taken care of by city officials, from the kapitan to the mayor.

This corner salutes PDEA for its unwavering commitment to faithfully serve its mandate in Pangasinan.

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‘COVID-19 FREE’ PANGASINAN. We have every reason to be confident that the provincial government can succeed faster in flattening the curve of Covid-19 infection than our neighboring provinces with the recent accreditation of the Region 1 Medical Center as authorized to conduct and confirm RT PCR tests that more accurately confirm positive infections.

R1MC should be able to advise local governments of results of swab tests endorse to it for confirmation within 24 hours. Prior to this accreditation, our health institutions had to wait 5-10 days for confirmation of test results.   

It is the capability and/or inability of local governments to confirm positive cases that make the difference whether patients can be saved or not. Immediate treatment is the key, followed by contact-tracing. Each day of delay in confirming positive cases increases chances of more infection if not deaths.  

I hope R1MC is up to the challenge to make that difference in Pangasinan.

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LESSONS FROM SAP 1. The 2^nd distribution of the Social Amelioration Fund will start soon.

If there’s any lesson that barangay kapitans can learn from the first faulty implementation, it is – Do not believe that you can get away with deliberately screwing up the distribution for your own personal agenda.  More than a hundred kapitans are already facing possible jail sentence if proven that they hijacked some of the funds.

In this age of internet and modern mobile communication, residents now find it easy to expose any irregularity and find support in and outside the community.  Complaining residents no longer have to worry much about red tape in handling their complaints.

Any bureaucrat who shields political patrons can be easily exposed as well!

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UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF EDUCATION. The DepEd division offices in Pangasinan have yet to make an assessment of their capabilities to implement any of the alternatives deemed feasible in Pangasinan, given the economic profile of majority of families in the province.  

It is their assessment that will enable the provincial government not only to assess what logistics and resources it can extend to make the alternative work but to determine what private-public partnership is possible to help children of indigent families cope and manage with their limitations.  

Without a doubt, the extent of damage to the next generation will be palpable if the education crisis is not managed to help keep our children in step with the development in other countries.

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