First-time drug offenders under 18-years-old may now avail of a suspended sentence with the issuance of new Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) rules that will take effect Nov. 1. Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago yesterday lauded the Rules on the Suspension of Sentence of a First-time Minor Drug Offender, which the DDB issued pursuant to the new Dangerous Drugs Act. "The new rules give substance to the state policy to promote and protect the well-being of the youth," Santiago said. [continues 310 words]
ZAMBOANGA CITY: The price of the illegal drug methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) has increased due to its low supply in the region, said Supt. June Jamolo, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency regional director. Jamolo said the drug-abuse problem in the region is now manageable, due to the scarcity of the prohibited drug. He said the price of shabu has gone up, from P3,500 to P5,000 a gram. However, notwithstanding the scarcity of the illegal drug, the agency is pursuing its antidrug operation because shabu remains a common drug used by addicts in the city, Jamolo said. [continues 66 words]
CEBU CITY: Men wearing helmets gunned down two men 19 hours on Friday, bringing to 59 the number of vigilante-style executions since December 22. First to fall was a suspected drug peddler, shot thrice by a gunman who barged into his house Friday night. Norberto Cana, 30, a police asset, was watching TV in his house on R. Palmas Street when he was attacked. The gunman's companion was waiting on a motorcycle nearby. Earlier in the day, a man with no criminal record was shot dead by two unidentified men at dawn. [continues 77 words]
DAVAO CITY - The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here said 30 local residents, including prominent Davaenos, may have dealings with suspected local "drug lord," Allan Sy. "We have their photos and their car numbers," PDEA chief Supt. Wilkins Villanueva told media, referring to the said families dealing with Sy, adding the police held a list of about 30 visitors to Sy's factories. "We have photos, the names and addresses of these people who have at one time visited Sy in his shabu lairs," he added. [continues 373 words]
