Is Naga City a 'hotbed' of illegal drugs? Bicol law enforcers confirm but...

NAGA CITY, Philippines (Bicol Standard) — “I agree with the president that Naga is a hotbed of drugs.”

This is what Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Bicol Regional Director Christian Frivaldo said to Dante Jimenez, chairman of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission, during a dialogue with the Regional Executives and Directors Association Bicol held at Avenue Plaza Hotel on Wednesday.

Jimenez asked Frivaldo to confirm or deny President Rodrigo Duterte's statement that Naga City — bailiwick of Vice President Leni Robredo, who used to represent the city in Congress — is a hotbed of shabu.

Frivaldo, however, clarified that the city is a hotbed of illegal drugs only in relation to the rest of Bicol.

Based on PDEA records, at least 21 percent of all illegal drugs seized in the region come from this city.

“Naga City serves as the distribution point,” Frivaldo said.

Drugs come in from Manila, Central Luzon

The PDEA official said that illegal drugs come from Manila and Central Luzon, as well as from Chinese and African drug syndicates. 

They are distributed in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Albay and Sorsogon, Frivaldo added. 

Seeking further confirmation, Jimenez asked Tomas Enrile, National Bureau of Investigation regional director, the same question.

“I am unanimous with the PDEA. Naga is the hotbed in Bicol, but not in the entire Philippines,” Enrile replied.

Jimenez also asked Chief Superintendent Lito Pitallano, who represented Chief Superintendent Arnel Escobal of the Philippine National Police in Bicol.  Escobal was on an official trip to Manila.

Pitallano declined to answer since he was merely representing Escobal.

NICA confirms 'hotbed' tag

Meanwhile, Regional Director Ariel Bernardo of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency nodded to signify his confirmation of the "hotbed" tag.

Bernardo said that his office is willing to assist should other agencies need their support on intelligence-gathering.

Jimenez shared that he is against the use of illegal drugs because his brother was killed by drug users.

“Sisira 'yan ng kabataan (This will ruin the youth)," Jimenez said in Filipino.

City council: 'Drug hotbed' tag irresponsible

The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Naga City has unanimously approved a resolution expressing indignation against the tagging of Naga City as a hotbed of illegal drugs.

Duterte’s statement was labeled as “irresponsible” and “without factual basis.” 

The "hotbed" tag was a “deep insult hurled against the dignity of all Nagueños,” the resolution read.

For Robredo, the statement was a huge insult to the people of Naga City. Robredo's late husband, Jesse, was the city's mayor for nearly two decades.

Melissa Basmayor is the editor-in-chief of the Bicol Standard, a regional partner of Philstar.com.