EDITORIAL - Little effect

With the help of local communities, authorities have scored big the past months, raiding several marijuana plantations across Cebu province in what was said to be one of the biggest hauls in recent years.

The latest was the raid by the police, the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency, and the military on a 1.3 hectare marijuana plantation in a mountain barangay of Badian town. The operatives seized over 28,000 fully-grown plants and seedlings worth at least P5.3 million, and arrested a man alleged to be the caretaker.

Before that, authorities had stumbled upon a marijuana plantation in another barangay of Badian while responding to a report of armed men hiding in the area, uprooting over 10,000 marijuana plants worth P2 million and five thousands seedlings.

While Cebuanos have hailed the authorities for their recent success, it remains to be seen whether the series of operations would finally take a serious toll on the marijuana growing business in the province.   

The recent development may have served as a warning to those involved in marijuana growing business. But since past accomplishments by police and military yielded no concrete results, many doubt whether the intensified campaign would bring unprecedented success. 

Let's admit that, for decades, the marijuana growing industry has been alive and kicking in the province despite the heightened drive against it. Although authorities were busy overrunning plantations, the effort seems to have little effect.

In fact, according to PDEA-7 director Jeffrey Bangsa, Cebu is now a leading source for marijuana in the Visayas with large plantations can be found in the city of Danao and the towns of Balamban and Badian.  

With this revelation, we can only conclude that a heightened drive by the authorities is not really enough. Perhaps, it's time for local government units to step in by launching a massive information campaign in mountain barangays on the grave consequences the marijuana business entails.

The reason why many have been lured to engage in marijuana cultivation is the fact that it is far more lucrative than the ordinary farming. Therefore, LGUs and concerned government agencies should band together in initiating measures that would help farmers raise their income to prevent them from resorting to illegal forms of livelihood.