WORKSHOP. City and municipal chiefs of police, along with police-community relations and operations personnel, under the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) attend the Orientation and Workshop on Barangay Drug Clearing Operations at the provincial police headquarters in Bacolod City on Wednesday (Jan. 22, 2020). The NOCPPO seeks to harmonize its operations with the actions of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to fast-track the drug clearing operations in the province. (Photo courtesy of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office)
BACOLOD CITY -- The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) is seeking to harmonize its barangay drug clearing operations with that of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Efforts were discussed during the Orientation and Workshop on Barangay Drug Clearing Operations held at the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas satellite office at the provincial police headquarters here on Wednesday.
Col. Romeo Baleros, provincial police director, said police units under the NOCPPO need to collaborate with the PDEA, local government units, and other partner agencies to fast-track the drug clearing operations in the province.
At present, only 98 out of the 601 barangays in Negros Occidental have been declared as drug-cleared.
Maj. Norberto Barniso, chief of NOCPPO Police Community Affairs Section, which facilitated the workshop, said some 160 police personnel attended the activity.
These included city and municipal chiefs of police as well as police-community relations and operations personnel.
Nicolas Gomez, provincial officer of PDEA-Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, presented updates on the barangay clearing program while Lt. Col. Robert Mansueto, chief of Cadiz City Police Station, discussed the process flow and strategy in barangay drug clearing operations.
In Negros Occidental, police operatives have seized multimillion worth of suspected shabu in various operations in the first three weeks of January alone.
From January 6 to 12, various drug enforcement teams have recovered PHP2.8 million in shabu and arrested 24 suspects, which led to the filing of cases in court.
On Wednesday, five suspects were arrested in a buy-bust conducted by police operatives in Talisay City that resulted in the recovery of some PHP3.5 million worth of shabu. (PNA)
