Pubdate: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 Source: Today (Philippines) Copyright: 2004 Today Contact: http://www.today.net.ph/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3458 Author: Jeoffrey Maitem and Jojo Due, Today Correspondents Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) ILLEGAL DRUGS AFFECT OVER HALF OF COTABATO CITY, SAYS PDEA COTABATO CITY - At least 20 of the 37 villages in this city have been affected by illegal drugs, the latest report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has bared. Supt. Donardo Torres, PDEA-ARMM chief, said his office's report from January to July showed that seven villages are placed under Category II, or less seriously affected, while 13 others are in Category III, or threatened to be affected. Torres explained that under Category II, affected areas have 1.0 percent to 2.49 percent of the local residents as drug dependents, while those in Category III have less than 1 percent of the populace as drug dependents. Villages under Category II include Poblacion Mother, Poblacion 2, Poblacion 7, Bagua 2, Bagua 3, Bagua Mother and Tamontaka Mother. Under Category III, on the other hand, are Poblacion I, Poblacion 3, Poblacion 6, Rosary Heights 2, Rosary Heights 5, Rosary Heights 7, Rosary Heights 8, Rosary Heights 9, Rosary Heights 10, Rosary Heights 12, Rosary Heights Mother, Bagua I and Kalanganan Mother. Torres also reported that they have arrested about 46 drug pushers and 28 users in their campaign against the proliferation of illegal drugs here. In their series of raids in the same period, 52.7 grams of shabu with a street value of P105,400 and 2,500 grams of dried marijuana leaves with a street value of P167,900 were confiscated, Torres added. Meanwhile, a PDEA official in Central Luzon described the drug situation in that region as serious despite significant gains and achievements in the past few months. PDEA Central Luzon Director Supt. Jerome Baxinela explained that two individuals replace every drug pusher arrested by PDEA operatives, and these replacements are henchmen of drug lords. "These people are mere henchmen of drug lords or financiers and are expendable as they can easily be replaced by two more. We need to get to the 'big fish' to stop drug operations in Central Luzon," Baxinela said in an interview in Clark Field, Pampanga, on Sunday. The PDEA regional chief said there were originally 22 local drug groups when the agency was set up in Central Luzon. However, the number has been cut down to only seven after PDEA operations neutralized 15 earlier. Baxinela also said that PDEA-CL has only to contend with local drug lords and not transnational drug groups. He said as far as they know, the local groups do not have transnational backup groups. Of the seven provinces in Central Luzon, Tarlac and Bulacan have the highest number of drug cases based on apprehensions and operations conducted by the PDEA. He added that Barangay Antidrug abuse Councils (Badacs) in the region have a list of at least 3,000 identified drug users. But Baxinela stressed that this is just the tip of the iceberg as he cited national figures revealing that at least 1.8 million people are regular drug users, while 1.6 million are occasional users. This results in a national figure of 3.4 million as of 2001, a far cry from the 20,000 users in 1972 during the issuance of Republic Act 6425, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972. Then, marijuana was the most common drug abused. "The past 30 years has registered a substantial increase that shows RA 6425 was not that effective," he said. He said RA 9165, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, has outlined stiffer penalties for offenders and has done away with the quantity of drugs on an apprehended individual, citing Section 5 of the act that makes mere drug possession nonbailable. Under RA 9165, first offenders are put under rehabilitation, such as the Central Luzon Drug Rehabilitation Center in Magalang town, Pampanga. However, repeat offenders are jailed for a maximum of six years. Baxinela said the main drug being peddled by these drug lords now is shabu, a substance that he said has become very popular among pushers and users alike. Marijuana comes second. Shabu sells for P2,000 to P2,500 per gram, while marijuana for P10 per gram. Shabu sources include Metro Manila and Cavite in the Southern Tagalog Region. However, Baxinela said the price of shabu has increased over the past few months because of the scarcity of the pure or high-grade form of the drug.