A lukewarm response from the Boholanos greeted the list of 159 public officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs as revealed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday dawn, August 7, 2016.
Eagerly anticipating the inclusion of local officials implicated in the local drug trade either as coddlers or protectors, the list did not mention a single public official from Bohol.
Callers who responded to a survey over DYRD “Inyong Alagad” on Monday, August 8, 2016 on the question “What is your reaction to President Duterte’s list exposing mayors, judges and police officials linked to illegal drugs?” expressed dismay at the list that showed the non-involvement of local public officials.
However, Cabinet Secretary, former Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio “Tuloy” Evasco told the Chronicle that a Bohol list is now under validation.
The apparent disappointment of the Boholanos stemmed from the number of drug users and pushers from the province that voluntarily gave themselves in to police authorities in response to operation “Tokhang”.
According to Police Provincial Director, Police Senior Superintendent Felipe Natividad during the monthly meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) on July 29, 2016, more than 273.66 grams of shabu with an estimated street value of P3.299 million were confiscated in barely two months.
The Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) also reported that the 30,287 drug personalities who “surrendered” to the police from July 1-29, 2016 accounted for half of the total in Central Visayas that yielded to the police.
With these figures, Boholanos are incredulous that local officials and police authorities are unaware of the extent of the drug problem in their localities.
Boholanos believe that there are a number of local officials who are acting as “coddlers, protectors” or are directly involved in the illegal drug business.
The BPPO, National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency are deep into the investigation of all local officials including police officers participation in the lucrative local drug trade. (Chito M. Visarra)