PDEA personnel receive awards for doing job

CEBU - The officials of the Dangerous Drugs Board yesterday gave plaques of patriotism to each of the 23 police officers and agents of the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency for their valuable performance in the fight against illegal drugs.

DDB Undersecretary Paul Clarence Oaminal was assisted by Central Visayas police director Ronald Roderos and PDEA-7 director Randy Pedroso in handing the plaques to the awardees during a simple ceremony at Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr.

A posthumous award was also given to the late PO2 Jose Clint Cañete, who was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle at the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge after attending a court hearing in Lapu-Lapu City on October 21.

He was a member of the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force.

Cañete’s wife Charito and their six-year-old son were the ones who received the award, including the P5,000 cash assistance.

In his speech, Oaminal said the killing of Cañete will only encourage the anti-illegal drugs personnel to be more active in their fight against the drug lords and drug peddlers.

The awardees were Superintendents Erson Digal and Rex Derilo, Senior Inspectors Conrado Manatad, George Ylanan and Aileen Recla, SPO4s Arsenio Maglente Jr., Edmund Junco, SPO3 Jesus Cabalda, SPO2 Delfin Bontuyan, Manuel Sanchez, and SPO1s Willard Silibio, Roel Leyson, Ramil Villaluz, Allen Jude Germodo.

The other awardees were PO2s Eriberto Dacalos, George Cansancio, and PDEA agents Julius Navales, Yogi Ruiz, Levi Valmoria, David Mark Maramba, Rayford Yap and Jyxyvzcky Escrupulo.

Both Oaminal and Roderos later held a press conference where they announced that the public can already send text messages to the DDB through their mobile phones if they have any information about illegal drug activities.

In coordination with Globe Telecom, the public can just text DDB<space>HOTLINE<space>, then the message, and send it to 2278 for the Globe and Touch Mobile subscribers.

Meanwhile, the PDEA officials yesterday confirmed that their personnel have conducted an anti-drugs operation at the Talisay City Sports Complex on Thursday night to arrest suspected drug pusher Crisostomo Llaguno alias “Tata Negro”.

But unfortunately, Llaguno who was described by the PDEA officials as similar to Robin Hood, managed to escape with the help of many people.

“He is like a Robin Hood. The people help him to escape from our personnel,” Pedroso said, saying that they already arrested Llaguno during a buy-bust operation last November 4, but still he was able to escape.

Pedroso said some of those persons who helped Llaguno escape at the sports complex have been identified already and they will be charged soon before the city prosecutors office in Talisay. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP (THE FREEMAN)