BONTOC, Mountain Province – “Relocate the checkpoint in Ampawilen to the boundary of Mountain Province and Kalinga”!
That was the remarks of Sadanga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan during the 4th Quarter meeting of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC) last November 24, 2021.
Mayor Ganggangan raise the request amidst allegations that the marijuana bricks being apprehended reportedly almost weekly along Ampawilen, Sadanga are coming within the municipality and not Tinglayan, Kalinga.
Irked by such reports, the mayor voiced out his sentiments that the checkpoint should be relocated to the boundary but within the territory of Sadanga a couple of kilometers away from its current location.
“I request the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to cause the relocation of the checkpoint to the boundary to dispel the notion that marijuana is coming from within Sadanga”, he said.
He relayed the joint Resolution No. 3, series 2021 of the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC), Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council (MADAC), and the Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) conducted on October 22, 2021 at Sadanga.
The resolution is “requesting the PDEA-CAR and the PNP-PROCOR through the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) to establish a checkpoint at the boundary of Kalinga and Mountain Province to deter illegal drug trade in the area, and appropriating funds for this purpose”.
The incidents of interception of illegal marijuana trades in the area has been reported in the social media, including face book. The mayor said that the apprehensions were done almost weekly.
Reportedly, the above incidents caused the ire of drug traders including marijuana cultivators within the area putting the safety of PNP personnel of the Sadanga Municipal Police Station, and is threatening to affect the inter-tribal relations among the tribes concerned of both the provinces.
The resolution emphasized that to prevent the escalation of tribal conflict among the tribes of both province arising from the government’s anti-drug operations, the RPOC ‘s intervention is being sought.
Should the request be granted, the resolution also request the PDEA-CAR to assign and finance a team to be attached to the PNP checkpoint to take on the anti-drug operations.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ganggangan also requested the PNP and the PDEA to assist them in the provision of meals of the apprehended individuals who stays at the municipal jail on process before being transferred to the provincial jail, if warranted.
“Tulungan dakami met ah as we have limited budget,” he asked the PDEA and PNP representatives. By Roger Sacyaten
