Dumaguete City hosting anti-illegal drugs summit

CEBU, Philippines – At least 110 participants are expected to attend the Illegal Drugs Prevention and Control Summit in Dumaguete City today and tomorrow.

The Dumaguete City Anti-Drug Abuse Council has spearheaded this summit, which was aimed at coming up with a collaborative effort to fight illegal drugs and push maximum community awareness on the problem.

DCADAC executive director Rosario Macalipay the other day said key officials of the Dangerous Drugs Board, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Interior and Local Government have been invited to the summit.

Undersecretary Benjamin Reyes of DDB arrived a day ahead of the event and is now in the city, said Macalipay, adding that the two-day summit will start with a press conference at 9 a.m. today.

Slated guest panelists are: City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, DDB Executive Director Jose Marlowe Pedregosa, PDEA-Region 7 Director Jeffrey Bangsa, Police Regional Office-7 Director Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Bañas and DILG-Region 7 Director Ananias Villacorta.

Shortly after, lectures on various topics will be conducted by law enforcement authorities and other speakers:

Psychiatrist Doctor Perpetuo Lozada will speak on The Effects of Drugs, Smoking and Alcoholism; Fiscal Ely Escoreal on prosecution; Police Regional Office-7 Director Chief Superintendent Tom Bañas on the illegal drugs problem from a regional perspective.

Senior Superintendent Rey Lyndon Lawas, chief of the Regional Investigation and Detection Management Division of PRO-7 and Judge Joseph Elmaco are the other resource speakers for the summit.

Lawas said the summit is timely as the campaign against illegal drugs is one of PRO-7 director's top priority programs. PRO-7's accomplishments in recent months have surpassed those of the previous years and last year, he said although specific data could not be made available as of press time.