Council commends Oaminal

CEBU, Philippines —  For believing in his expertise and competence in performing his new task, the Cebu City Council has commended and congratulated lawyer Clarence Paul Oaminal for being designated as anti-drug coordinator of Cebu Province.

In an approved resolution, Councilor Erik Miguel Espina said it is something to be proud of since only Cebu Province has an anti-drug coordinator under the office of Senator Vicente Sotto III.

“Atty. Oaminal has shown exemplary expertise and competence to handle his position with his previous track record as the former Undersecretary of the Dangerous Drugs Board and also the present consultant of the said board,” reads portion of the resolution.

It was last week when Oaminal received order from Sotto designating him  to coordinate with different law enforcement agencies in the fight against illegal drug trade in Cebu.

Some of the agencies that Oaminal will be coordinating are the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

In the order, Sotto authorized Oaminal to perform necessary actions in ensuring that laws enacted by Congress are implemented.

Espina believed that the designation of Oaminal will assist law enforcement agencies in curbing the illegal drug problem here as he has the exemplary expertise and competence to undertake the position.

Espina furnished a copy of his approved resolution to Sotto, Oaminal, Office of the Mayor, PDEA, PNP, and DOJ for their information and appropriate actions.

The resolution was approved without objections from members of the City Council last regular session on November 13.

Oaminal was a recipient of Congressional Plaque of Recognition for assisting the government in the extraction of the financier of the mega shabu laboratory in Mandaue City several years ago along with former congressman Antonio Cuenco and lawyer Jose Calida.

Espina said the operation led to the confiscation of 1.1 tons of suspected shabu.

He said Oaminal was also instrumental in the confiscation of P3.6 billion worth of illegal drugs with Australian Federal Police and another operation in Eastern Samar that led to the confiscation of 650 kilos of cocaine.

In 2008, Oaminal was designated as vice chairman of Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and was appointed as acting chairman of DDB in 2009 replacing Sotto at that time.

Oaminal said he plans to meet all stakeholders to ensure that seaports and airport will be strictly monitored.

Oaminal believed that Cebu is the center of illegal drug trade in the region because of the two entry points - seaports and airports.

“The government is not giving a hard time sa mga syndicates because the government failed to secure the seaports and airports,” he said, adding that there’s no physical inspection of cargoes arriving here in Cebu.

He said he needs the cooperation not only from the law enforcement agencies but also from the community to take part in the fight against illegal drugs.

One of the essential things to do, he said, is that all offices should work according to their mandates especially in curbing illegal drugs.

With his designation, Oaminal said the people will expect interceptions of major cargoes of illegal drugs here with the help of everyone.

“I will also talk to Cebu Province and demand for the creation of Special Drug Education Center here,” Oaminal said.

Oaminal said the Special Drug Education Center will focus on educating the youths on the ill effects of illegal drugs and to ensure who is accountable in the illegal proliferation of drugs here.

As of now, he said the government has not come up with an effective community-based treatment program for this.

He said Sotto is planning to refile his bill aiming to reorganize and integrate PDEA and DDB as one office since both offices can work as one. — MBG (FREEMAN)