Zamboanga Sibugay an 'area of concern' for PDEA-9

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-9 and the Police Regional Office-9 are to intensify their joint anti-narcotics operation in Zamboanga Sibugay province, now regarded as an “area of concern,” where anti-narcotics agents had entrapped a number of large-scale shabu traffickers since January.

PDEA-9 agents and policemen from units under PRO-9 entrapped three peddlers just last Wednesday in Ipil, capital of Zamboanga Sibugay, and seized from them P4.4 million worth of shabu in a tradeoff laid with the help of local executives and barangay officials.

Maharani Gadaoni-Tosoc, director of PDEA-9, told reporters on Saturday, September 14, that they shall work harder, along with local government units and the office of the director of the PRO-9, Brig. Gen. Bowenn Masauding, in addressing the drug problem in Zamboanga Sibugay, a component-province of Region 9.

“These recent operations in the province highlight the imminent presence of illegal drugs there, a threat to society,” Gadaoni-Tosoc said in a statement released on Saturday.

Even so, Gadaoni-Tosoc is confident law-enforcement units and local executives in the province can, as a team, overcome such a challenge.

Gadaoni-Tosoc, provincial police officials and local executives together inaugurated, between September 9 to 12, a drug reformatory center each in Imelda, Talusan and Titay towns in Zamboanga Sibugay, together constructed by local executives and the PDEA-9.

“We are grateful to the municipal officials of Imelda, Talusan and Titay for the commitment to work with us in overseeing these facilities,” Gadaoni-Tosoc said.