The Cordillera Regional Peace and Order Council (CRPOC) has approved the anti-marijuana campaign as a flagship program in a bid to eradicate the marijuana plant cultivation and prevent the distribution of illegal drugs in the region's urban areas.
“I suggest that the anti-marijuana campaign should be included in the 2022-2025 flagship program of the council so that we can focus on and develop plans and strategies to suppress the plant cultivation in potential growing areas, as well as minimize the product availability here in the region,” said Department of the Interior and Local Government-Cordillera Administrative Region (DILG-CAR) Director Araceli San Jose, who is also the head secretariat of the CRPOC.
In a meeting, Baguio City Mayorand CRPOC Chairman Benjamin Magalong also supported San Jose’s call, noting that the council needs to orchestrate a permanent solution to get rid of marijuana cultivation in the Cordillera and provide solutions and livelihood to those communities that will be affected by the program.
He also cited the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Cordillera for being relentless in its anti-illegal drug operations especially the uprooting of marijuana cultivation sites and in its drive to put a stop to the illegal drug trade.
Based on the latest data of PDEA Cordillera, anti-narcotics authorities have seized a total of P485.36 million worth of illegal drugs in the region which include marijuana.
Meanwhile, Tinglayan Municipal Mayor Sacrament Gumilab thanked the CRPOC for its move to include the anti-marijuana campaign as one of its flagship programs.
“I am very happy, the RPOC recognizes the need to sit together and develop a comprehensive plan to identify the root causes and formulate solutions to address the problem,” he said.
Realization of inclusive and sustainable peace
Magalong was awarded a plaque of recognition by officials and members of the CRPOC for his genuine commitment and dedicated leadership as CRPOC head which led to the attainment of the council's goals and objectives and realization of an inclusive and sustainable peace in the region.
San Jose commended Magalong for helping reduce rape cases and incidents by 15 percent per quarter, for his unwavering support for the continuation of peaceful negotiations between the Butbut and Betwagan tribes and for preventing any election-related violence and abuses in order to achieve a safe and peaceful election.
She also cited Magalong’s laudable feat in achieving the 80 percent target of the vaccination rate of the eligible population in the region.
"His defining leadership as Vice-chairperson of the Cordillera Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) to institutionalize the whole-of-nation approach in the region and to ensure the goals and objectives of CRPOC are exemplary recognized," San Jose said. (Chito A. Chavez)