EDITORIAL - Narco-politics

If the reports would prove true that some illegal drug pushers are supporting many barangay officials in Cebu City who are running in the coming barangay elections, then there is a really a great cause for concern.

The other day, the Cebu City Police Office refused to confirm that the eight barangays named by former south district congressman Tomas Osmeña as hotly contested villages are affected by drugs.

Osmeña had claimed that narco-politics drove many barangays in the city to be hotly contested. Some of these barangays are found in the south district such as Day-as, Suba, Duljo-Fatima, Labangon, Sawang Calero, Calamba, Ermita and Pasil.

Despite Osmeña's claim, city policemen have yet to confirm the existence of narco-politics in these barangays. The reports are still being investigated by their intelligence unit, they said.

Chief Insp. Romeo Santander, the City Intelligence Branch chief, said that based on their validation, all barangays mentioned by Osmeña are drug-affected areas, a thing also confirmed by the Regional Intelligence Division-7.

While we all admit that illegal drugs freely proliferate in many areas around the city, reports of drugs now penetrating politics in some barangays really sends a chill down our spine.

If it will be proven that narco-politics indeed exists in many barangays, it seems the coming elections in the city would be a bloody one. Because bigtime drug pushers would do all to protect their trade, supporting certain candidates would be a necessary move for survival.

It is just weeks before election day. And it will be a busy time for authorities preparing for the event. The police will have a big task implementing security measures knowing the messy history of the barangay polls.

Now, with the reports about narco-politics penetrating several barangays in the city, we can only hope that our law enforcers are ready for any eventuality.