INCLUSION IN DRUG WATCHLIST STAYS

THE mere signing of a pledge to forgo their drug habits cannot be taken as an act of surrender.

This was the reaction of P/Supt. Christopher Abrahano, chief of Dagupan City Police Station (DCPS) to the reported ‘surrender’ of some 500 persons to Bonuan Gueset Chairman Rico Mejia.

Abrahano said while he welcomes the initiative of Mejia, the signing by the pledge by the suspects cannot be considered a “surrender” unless the parties go through several processes allowed by law in order to clear their names.

“Kahit sumuko na, subject pa rin for operation kasi papel lang yon”, said Abrahano. “But there is nothing wrong with what he is doing since it is his tool for change,” he added.

The signatories will remain in the watch list of the police and will still be subjects of operations by the police unless they present themselves for processing, Abrahano told newsmen last week.

He said not one of those who reportedly ‘surrendered’ to Mejia was brought to the police station for documentation proceedings, like their mug shots being taken for filing purposes.

In an interview by ABS- CBN, Mejia said he did it to let the drug dependents know that they can still break away from illegal drugs just like he did.

Abrahano, however, was emphatic that without being properly processed, he said, the pledge of commitment has no value to the police.

He added that the signing of a pledge never again to sell or use illegal drugs can not erase the cases filed against a person, particularly those with standing warrants of arrests issued by the courts.

Abrahano said, suspects with standing warrant of arrests can surrender to the barangay chairman who in turn should turnover the suspect to the police. He said the suspects will still have to answer in court the cases filed against him if any.

The users who made the pledge, Abrahano said, must also agree to be brought to the rehab centers.

Meanwhile, he said there are still 470 drug personalities in Dagupan in the watch list. The names of these were generated in the police textline and from various sources of information and subsequently validated by their intelligence agents.

He noted that since the Duterte administration warned that it will hit hard on illegal drug peddlers, the number of families involved in illegal drugs in known drug lairs in the city had been vastly reduced.

There are now only three families involved in illegal drugs in Bonuan Tondaligan where there were 80 before; 30 at Sitio Silongan in Bonuan Binloc, from 160.

Many of the families involved in illegal drugs in these areas have either left the communities or had already been arrested by the police.

Abrahano considers Sitio Aling in Barangay Pantal as still problematic and is continuously being closely monitored.

Meanwhile, the DCPS is prepared for an all-out war against illegal drugs given the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to the whole of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“We are very and always prepared”, said Abrahano when asked about the security of DCPS policemen against illegal drug personalities in the city.

He said they have heightened their level of awareness since criminals do not know exactly who among the policemen are directly involved in the anti-drug operations, their exact targets.

“We told them that their firearms are always chamber loaded, always ready, in good condition, always alert since everyone they encounter in the drug campaign is an aggressor,” said Abrahano.

He added, “it is our mandate that everybody will go home to their families every night (day) alive”. (Leonardo Micua / Hilda Austria)

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