PRO-8, PDEA-8 Galugad on jails yield no drugs

PALO, LEYTE, Philippines — Operatives of the Police Regional Office-8 and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-8 conducted simultaneous "Oplan Galugad" or Greyhound inspection in all provincial, city and municipal jails or detention cells in Eastern Visayas, but found no illegal drugs, and only improvised bladed weapons, from the inmates.

Chief Superintendent Gilbert Cruz, PRO-8 director, said the Galugad operations were done in coordination with the jail wardens, barangay officials, and the media to ensure a fair and transparent conduct of the surprise inspections of every detention center in the region, under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

The Oplan Galugad was in line with the memorandum of agreement between the police and the BJMP in compliance with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to eradicate the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country, particularly in jail facilities that the PDEA had identified as being used in the drug trade and supply.

Cruz said transparency in the Oplan Galugad is very important, that’s why members from the media were invited to avoid speculations from the public of the police planting evidences on suspects. All confiscated items were properly documented and brought to respective police stations for proper disposition, he said.

In a separate interview, Tacloban City Jail Warden, Supt. Peter Bongat, also confirmed that the BJMP has been conducting similar surprise inspections on jails around Eastern Visayas.

Bongat said that the recent joint Oplan Galugad inspection of the police — yielding no illegal drugs — showed that jail management is now on the verge of winning in the campaign against illegal drugs proliferation among inmates, which has been a long-drawn problem bugging BJMP.

At least 46 BJMP jail facilities in Eastern Visayas were the subjects of the simultaneous Oplan Galugad carried out by the PRO-8 and PDEA-8 over the weekend. (FREEMAN)