Police, PCG told: Secure Cebu City shorelines

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is asking the police and the Philippine Coast Guard to deploy security personnel along the shorelines of the city to prevent the entry of illegal drugs.

Labella said the Cebu City Police Office and other concerned law enforcement agencies should intensify efforts to prevent the smuggling of illegal drugs into the city.

“They should be more relentless in the no-nonsense fight against criminality, particularly the illegal drug menace,” the mayor said.

Labella was reacting to the statement made by Police Regional Office-7 director Brigadier General Debold Sinas that 50 kilos of shabu from Marawi City entered Cebu last month. According to Labella, things like this should be prevented from happening in the future.

Labella said he already reminded CCPO director Police Col. Gemma Vinluan to deploy personnel along the city’s shorelines that are considered entry points for smaller boats from other provinces. He cited Barangay Pasil as example where there are smaller boats ferrying passengers to and from the neighboring provinces in the region.

“During my last meeting with Chief Gemma Vinluan and with the Coast Guard, there are other areas which I think has not sufficiently covered like for example the Pasil area, it’s a shoreline. There are boats from other parts of the Visayas,” Labella said.

The mayor said he already discussed the matter with the officials of PCG and asked them not to focus only in the pier area but also in the other possible entry points.

“I reminded Col. Vinluan to put some police elements there kay naay mga pump boats magdala og pasahero gikan sa Bohol,” he said. The mayor also urged the public to help the government agencies in addressing the problem.

He said the drug problem has metamorphosed into a social problem that should be addressed not only by the government but also by the community at large.

“It has become a social problem so all sectors of the community must be involved in this fight against illegal drugs,” Labella said.

Labella said the law enforcement agencies should also guard against the entry of other illegal items and criminal elements. He said he also directed the officials of City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) to take a proactive stance on the problem rather than being reactionary.

CADAC is now chaired by anti-drug crusader Ernest Herrera II. He has Vinluan as vice chairperson with members from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Cebu City Health Department, Public Information Office, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7, Commission on Education-7, Association of Barangay Councils, and other offices. — FPL (FREEMAN)