A total of P23.3 million worth of shabu were seized from 305 drug personalities who were arrested in a period of 100 days, or from August 1 to November 8, 2019.
Bohol Provincial Police chief Col. Jonathan Cabal, who also marked yesterday his first 100 days since taking over the command at Camp Dagohoy bared that during said period, a total of 243 anti-illegal drug operations have been conducted and 477 drug cases were filed against those arrested.
Notably, during Cabal’s first month as provincial PNP chief, anti-drug operations quadrupled, from only 22 operations in July to 101 in the month of August. According to Cabal, during the 100-day period, a total of 3,433.68 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, popularly known as shabu, were confiscated with an estimated total street value of P23,349,024.
Out of the 305 drug personalities arrested, 11 were listed by the PDEA and the PNP as high-value-targets (HVTs). The arrests were made either through service of search warrants, warrants of arrest or buy-bust operations.
According to Cabal, the intensified operations against high-value targets alone resulted to the seizure of more than 2.5 kilograms of shabu, with a street value of P18 million, based on Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) estimates.
High-value targets arrested during the period included a group in Barangay Bacani, Clarin town who were cornered in a buy-bust on September 1 conducted by joint operatives of the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG)-Bohol Team, Provincial Intelligence Branch-Drug Enforcement Unit (PIB-DEU), PDEA-Bohol and the Clarin Police Station.
During said buy-bust operation, the joint operatives seized 1 kilogram of shabu worth P6.8 million from the possession of Esterio Quiño, Isagani Cañete, Ericson Redulla, Victor Quiño, Joseph Cañete and Arnel Lauron.
On October 6, a team from the Tagbilaran City Police Station and PIB-DEU arrested Allan Ben Caberte after an entrapment operation at his residence in Belderol Street, this city. Caberte, another high-value target, was found in possession of 1.5 kilograms of shabu, with a street value of P10.2 million.
Two other arrested high-value targets are Sangguniang Kabataan chairmen of Bilar and Clarin towns who yielded a total 15 grams of shabu in separate buy-bust operations conducted by the Bilar and Clarin PNP stations.
Two residents of Barangay Dampas, this city, also in the high-value targets list were likewise arrested in a buy-bust that resulted in the seizure of 85 grams of shabu worth P578,000. The alleged drug personalities were identified as Margarito Khen Lofranco and Sergio Aparicio, both of whom had been previously convicted of illegal drug offenses but released through plea bargaining.
“One-time, big-time”
During the 100-day period, the Bohol PNP also conducted a total of 252 high-impact operations called Simultaneous-Enhanced Managing Police Operations (S-EMPO), the recalibrated “one- time, big-time” operation that was popularized during the time of then PNP chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
The S-EMPO resulted in the arrest of 257 persons, most of whom are involved in illegal drugs, illegal possession of firearms and illegal gambling.
From these operations, a total of 497.71 grams of shabu were seized with a street value of P3,384,428. A total of 13 different types firearms were also confiscated, including 1 rifle and 1 grenade.
A total of P17,934 worth of bets were confiscated from illegal gambling operations.
Barangay drug-clearing
An intensified Barangay Drug Clearing Operations during the period also brought the number of barangays that is cleared of illegal drug activities to 363 in the entire province.
A barangay is declared drug-free after monitoring and deliberation by a Regional Oversight Committee (ROC) under the PDEA. At present, there are 17 other barangays in the province that are in the process of being cleared as free of illegal drug activities.
Out of 1,109 barangays in Bohol, 17 are said to be “unaffected” by illegal drugs while 1,092
barangays are “affected”.
Peace and Order
A comparative breakdown of index crimes shows that during the 100-day period, incidents of theft, physical injuries, robbery, murder and carnapping/motornapping have registered minor to significant increases during the same 100-day period last year (August to October 2018).
Theft increased by 46 incidents (23%), from 198 last year to 244 this year; physical injuries by 48 cases (36%), from 132 last year to 180 this year; robbery by 31 incidents (57%), or from 54 to 85; murder by 2, from 10 last year to 12 this year.
There was one reported incident of rape this year compared to 2 last year, while there was also one recorded homicide this year compared to last year’s 7 incidents.
Meanwhile, a comparative breakdown of non-index crimes for the same periods (2018 vs. 2019) also showed that cases of violations of special laws have increased by 82 this year (27%), or from 305 to 387. Reported incidents of other non-index crimes also showed a significant increase of 246 cases this year (up by 138%), or from 178 cases to 424 this year. Comparative data for the same periods of 2018 and 2019 also showed that the Crime Solution
Efficiency (CSE) of the Bohol Provincial Police Office have declined by 6.83%, or from 74.71% last year to 67.88% this year. Likewise, the BPPO’s Crime Clearance Efficiency (CCE) also registered a slight decline of 3.5%, or from 78.06% last year to 74.56% this year.