BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan revealed the city’s drug problem is becoming serious while approaching the 6-month self-imposed timetable imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte to curb the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.
The local chief executive claimed the 214 drug surenderers recorded by the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) from the period November 28 to December 4 shows that there are still numerous drug pushers and drug users in the different barangays who still do their illegal activities trying to put an acid test to the government’s all-out campaign against illegal drugs.
“We call on the remaining drug pushers and users in the city to reform and surrender to the authorities and not wait for something to happen to them or to the members of their families before they will realize that it is time for them to surrender,” Domogan stressed.
From 1,513 drug surrenderers the previous week, the number of drug surrenderers in the city grew to 1,727 surrenderers the following week and still increasing following the government’s anti-drug campaign nationwide.
He pointed out the government has given sufficient time to the drug surrenderers to reform by giving themselves up to the authorities to be properly guided back to mainstream society.
According to him, it is unfortunate that there are still drug pushers and users who remain hard headed by refusing to surrender and reform and thse are trying to test the limits of the law.
Domogan reiterated the appeal of local officials for the drug pushers and users to help themselves by surrendering to the police to be provided with the necessary technical assistance to enable them to join mainstream society as a reformed citizen and to prevent their lives from being put to danger.
He explained that what is needed is the vigilance of residents on illegal activities of their neighbors and reporting these for proper police action to the nearest police station.
Domogan is grateful to the government’s anti-drug campaign because it proved that all the city’s 128 barangays are drug-affected as shown by the presence of drug surrenderers from all the barangays, thus, the problem needs a consolidated effort among the government and the private sector in order to address such menace before it goes out of control and compromise the future of those involved.
He said it is proper for local residents to personally be aware of who their neighbors are to know whether or not they are involved in the illegal drug trade and cooperate with the authorities by informing the police of the presence of drug pushers and users in their places.
By Dexter A. See