By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Negros Occidental was ordered yesterday to step up its surveillance efforts following the massive drug hauls which took place in Western Visayas and neighboring Cebu on September 20 and 21.

PCG-Southern Visayas District commander, Captain Eduardo De Luna, said he talked with the PCG sub-station commanders in the cities of Escalante and San Carlos City to deploy their intelligence personnel.

De Luna said the intelligence personnel need to find out as to how the illegal drugs managed to enter the province, especially in San Carlos City, wherein it was discovered that the illegal drugs were being smuggled into the city by boat, and then divided by the drug groups for distribution to other areas in the island and neighboring provinces.

Last Sunday, police in Cebu City arrested brothers 32-year-old Rolando and 24-year-old Edward Romeo, and 22-year-old Calvin Valdez in a sting operation that yielded seven kilos of suspected shabu worth P47.6 million.

It was later followed by an operation in the town of Sibulan in Negros Oriental wherein authorities neutralized 24-year-old drug suspect Joemarie Yongco after the latter allegedly fought back against the police.

Cops recovered from Yongco two kilos of suspected shabu valued at around P13.7 million.

A third anti-drug operation resulted to the arrest of 31-year-old Emmanuel Siaboc in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental after yielding P13.5 million worth of suspected shabu.

All of the illegal drugs seized in the operations were packed on tea bags and were determined to have originated from San Carlos City./DGB, WDJ