By Paulo Loreto Lim

During the Bacolod City launch of RehabiNasyon, a national campaign aimed at eliminating illegal drugs throughout the country by encouraging drug users to enter rehabilitation, which took place at the Bacolod City Government Center yesterday, Mayor Evelio Leonardia touted the work his administration has done to combat illegal drugs.

“We, the City of Bacolod, have done much in suppressing the proliferation of drugs in our locality,” he said in his address. “[The city government] has been strongly supportive of President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.”

The mayor noted the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council has been “very active and enthusiastic in performing its role;” the Bacolod City Health Office is currently planning the construction of a formal drug rehabilitation center; and local police have implemented both Oplan Double-Barrel and Tokhang, which target drug personalities.

Also present at the launch was Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Ramon L. Cualoping III, who also spoke at a RehabiNasyon Roadshow and Town Hall last month in Iloilo City.

He earlier described the campaign as an “all-encompassing government campaign against illegal drugs [that] aims to communicate to the public the harmonized programs of different government agencies, debunk alternative truths, and showcase the results and benefits of the government’s efforts to fight the drug menace.”

Based on data released by Police Regional Office-6 last month, from December 5, 2017 to January 28, 2018, the Bacolod City Police Office recorded the most arrests related to illegal drugs in the entire region./PLL, WDJ