NPD to clear more barangays of illegal drugs

The Northern Police District Office (NPDO) is optimistic that it can reach its target of clearing at least 50 to 60 percent of its drug-affected barangays by the end of this month.

NPDO director Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco Jr. said over the weekend that an aggressive anti-narcotics campaign in Camanava is continuously gaining ground, resulting in the substantial reduction of drug-related offenses in the area.

Franco said that six months ago, more than 70 percent of crimes committed in the Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela (Camanava) area were drug-related but the incessant and forceful anti-narcotics campaign being implemented in the area has somehow dampened the drug menace.

Chief Inspector Rafael Santiago Jr., District Intelligence and Investigation Division (DIID) chief, said that petty crimes such as robbery and snatching still remain in the streets, though.

Santiago said the continued apprehension of street peddlers and users and the recent raids on shabu warehouses and laboratories are some of the factors that contributed to the drastic decrease in the supply of illegal drugs.

Camanava has a total of 255 barangays. Of these, 188 are in Caloocan City. According to Senior Superintendent Benjardi Mantele, the city police chief, 117 are drug-affected. The goal, he said is to clear at least half of the remaining drug-affected barangays.

In Malabon, officer-in-charge Superintendent Mariel Magaway said that of the 21 barangays in his city, 19 are plagued by the illegal drugs problem but five have already been cleared. And by the end of December, they are expecting to clear 10 more barangays.

In Valenzuela, 29 of its 32 barangays are drug-affected. Superintendent Jose Marcelo, the city police chief, said only two of these were cleared but they are working double time to clear at least 12 more.

In Navotas, police are subdividing the town’s biggest barangay, the North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS), to easily contain the drug problem. Navotas has 14 barangays and 10 are considered drug-affected.

Franco ordered his four police chiefs to exert more effort to meet their targets or they will face sanction.

"I will think twice if I found out that they did their task attentively, but if not, then they will face the ax," Franco warned.