Illegal drugs a top concern of Northern Metro authorities

Aside from flashfloods, the proliferation of illegal drugs which threatens hundreds of thousands of students in the northern part of Metro Manila remains the primary concern of local law enforcers.

In a police media program held at the Northern Police District Office in Caloocan City Monday, police officials said that drug pushing is still rampant in the streets.

"I based my assessment on a number of pushers we arrested," Supt. Jose Marcelo, Valenzuela City police chief, said.

Marcelo added that to address the drug menace, the city government of Valenzuela, where one of the biggest shabu laboratory in the country was busted recently, is taking measures to arrest the problem.

"Intelligence gathering was heightened as well as deployment of plainclothes policemen in school campuses, particularly in Fatima College where there are several foreignstudents," Marcelo said.

In Navotas, where a warehouse containing millions of pesos in shabu-making chemicals was discovered by the authorities following the Valenzuela raid, city police chief Supt. Billy Beltran said anti-illegal drugs measures are also being undertaken.

Beltran said a series of seminars for schoolchildren on how not to fell prey on illegal drugs and how to stay away from the lures of street pushers has been scheduled by the municipal government and the local police.

Meanwhile, Caloocan City police chief Senior Supt. Benjardi Mantele and Malabon City police chief Supt. Pete Ramos, said their respective local governments tapped the help of barangay leaders including its senior citizens in their fight not only against illegal drugs but also all forms of criminality in their respective areas.

Franco earlier ordered all Station Drug Enforcement Units (SDEUs) to double their efforts in running after drug pushers after he disbanded the District Drug Enforcement Group (DDEG) when one of its operatives was shot dead by his superior in an alleged hostage-taking incident inside their office.