The campaign against illegal drugs has contributed to the low crime volume recorded in the Cordillera, a ranking police officer said.
Police Regional Office-Cordillera Operations Management Division Chief. Col. Homer Penecilla said the crime volume in the region has hit an “all-time low” and attributed this to the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
He said the 56 index crimes recorded during in December last year is 61.38 percent lower than the 145 crimes recorded in the same month in 2018. Index crimes are crimes against person and property such as murder, robbery, theft, physical injury, rape, homicide, carnapping, and cattle rustling.
Penecilla said the police no longer use as an excuse the fact that crimes are expected to increase during the last quarter of the year because of the Yuletide season.
“We are already conducting measures to counter (the occurrence) of crimes, during the “ber” months and our strategies worked. Foremost, the enhanced police operations and the campaign against illegal drugs has been effective in curbing crimes since most of the crimes committed are related to illegal drugs use,” Penecilla said.
The campaign against illegal drugs has also been effective in the region as shown by the decline in the number of drug-affected barangays.
He said only 86 barangays in the region are being monitored as drug-affected. Cordillera has 1,176 barangays.
“Of the 86 drug-affected barangays, only seven are considered to have never been cleared. The 79 barangays were previously cleared but there was resurgence; and out of the 79 previously cleared, 27 were declared as re-affected because of the presence of a personality who is included in the list of President Rodrigo Duterte.”
“We have declared these barangays drug-free, but because of the presence of a drug personality that only the President could clear, these are still considered re-affected,” he said.
Penecilla said that if a barangay is declared reaffected, it does not mean that the intensity of the drug problem is the same as before it was declared cleared of illegal drugs. – Jane B. Cadalig
April 20, 2024
