SUPPORTING THE CITY POLICE. Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan talks to members of the media during a press conference at his office. Chan on Wednesday (Oct. 2, 2019) said the help of local government units for the local police force is crucial in the campaign against illegal drugs. (File photo by John Rey Saavedra)
CEBU CITY -- Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan on Wednesday said local government units' (LGU) support to the local police force is crucial in the campaign against illegal drugs.
Chan issued the statement amid the Senate investigation on alleged recycling of illegal drugs confiscated during anti-drug police operations.
According to him, since the assumption to office of Col. Clarito Baja, the new chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office last July 16, the lawmen have been able to confiscate a total of two kilograms of shabu with an estimated value of less than PHP15 million.
The police, Chan said, needs the full support of the LGU, especially on the resources that they need in conducting surveillance on drug personalities.
“Dili makalihok ang police especially on the surveillance side kay maglisod man sila kun way resources kun way support gikan nato (The police cannot move especially in conducting surveillance operation as they find it hard to do their work without resources and help from us),” he said in a radio interview.
The city government of Lapu-Lapu has been giving the local police fuel for their patrol cars, allowance for the cops assigned in the island city, and supplies for their office and stations, Chan said.
“Walay request sa atong polis nga bibalibaran. (There is no request from the police that we turned down). As long as there is an output of their job, and since we are satisfied with their performance, we give them our all-out support,” he said.
The mayor of this city on Mactan Island, however, said he issued a stern warning to the city police not to engage in acts that will destroy the trust of the people such as the alleged recycling of drugs seized during operations.
He said he has specific instructions for Baja on the fight against illegal drugs in the city.
“We have a directive to Col. Baja with regards to illegal drugs. Need to clear, because this is an ambitious task as this is among our mission. I got an order personally from the President. He ordered me to clear Lapu-Lapu City of drugs,” he claimed.
Chan is a former village chief of Pajo who supported President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs through a shame campaign by spraying paint on the doors of houses identified as drug dens.
Since his assumption to office last June 30, Chan has worked to weed out Lapu-Lapu City Hall of employees who are into drugs.
In the recent drug test on city employees detailed at the Material Recovery Facility, 16 staff were found positive for illegal drug use. They will be dismissed if confirmatory tests will find drug residue in their veins, said Garry Lao, head of the City of Lapu-Lapu Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention.
Chan also urged residents to report to him through their hotline posted on social media and printed on tarpaulins throughout the city, anyone who is still peddling illegal drugs.
He said he will also act on reports from residents about members of the local police force reselling shabu confiscated during operations.
He warned that since Lapu-Lapu is just a small city, the movement of illegal drug syndicates and scalawags in the police force can easily be detected. (PNA)
