BACOLOD CITY — Police Col. Eugene Rebadomia, officer-in-charge of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), has committed to tracking down new players in the illegal drug trade here.
“These are new drug personalities. Remnants of the previous drug groups are no longer existing,” he said at a press briefing Wednesday.
Rebadomia said these personalities are not from the city and are merely passing through. “That’s what we are watching for because these are the people who could affect the youth and the people here,” he added.
He also announced the designation of Police Lt. Col. Albert Sy as the new head of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU), replacing Police Lt. Col. Antonio Benitez Jr., who was reassigned to the Police Regional Office – Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) headquarters.
Sy previously served as police chief of Escalante City Police Station under the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO).
Rebadomia said he directed Sy to intensify operations against illegal drugs. “The challenge is to assess the situation on the ground, considering the quantity of the drug recoveries,” he added.
Since Rebadomia assumed office as BCPO officer-in-charge on Feb. 9, the BCPO has seized PHP 1.7 million worth of shabu and arrested 12 drug suspects in nine police operations.
Mayor Greg Gasataya had earlier urged Rebadomia to strengthen the city’s war against illegal drugs, noting that criminality often stems from the illegal drug trade.
Meanwhile, in the past week, four most wanted persons and seven other wanted individuals were also arrested by the city police force.
Thirteen persons were also arrested for illegal gambling in four separate operations, with PHP 1,972 in bet money confiscated.
In the campaign against loose firearms, the BCPO recorded 10 surrendered, deposited, or recovered firearms and one explosive. (Glazyl Jopson via tdg photo by tdg)