Drug lords now target grade school children
BARBA WARNS PARENTS
LINGAYEN–Users of illegal drugs continue to increase and children in grade schools have become easy preys as well to drug pushers.
Police Provincial Director Percival Barba has expressed alarm over the growing drug problem in schools, saying that based on records last year, those affected were not only students in college and high school but even those in elementary school.
Barba, speaking to newsmen last week, expressed his concern in view of the opening of classes on June 15 when the police usually strengthen their visibility near campuses to protect the school population from the clutches of drug dealers.
“In the past, we observed that only students in college and high school were affected but the affectation has gone down to the elementary level,” he said.
The provincial police chief said Pangasinan is not an isolated case and that the problem also persists in other parts of the country.
Barba said the local government units must acknowledge this reality so that solutions can be adopted.
“If people will simply deny that there is a drug problem among elementary students, this will create another problem,” Barba said.
He added that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is also aware of the situation.
Barba also noted that during his assignment in the 1980s in the now defunct Narcotics Command, he already saw this problem emerging with pushers mixing drug abuse substances in candies.
“This is even more serious now,” he said, “because in the early 80s, the drug abusers only used marijuana, but today, they are using shabu and other forms.”
He said parents should also be aware of t this problem so that they can help do something to protect their children.
DRUG RAID
Meanwhile, Barba hailed the recent raid conducted by PDEA in the Muslim community in Tondaligan Park last May 21, where 50 grams of shabu and some handguns were seized and arrested eight suspected drug dealers.
Among those arrested, he said, were persons with previous cases of violation of the anti-drugs law.
He expressed hope that PDEA will do this also in the Muslim village in Urdaneta City, where a so-called shabu tiangge was busted in the past.–LM
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