By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Several major drug groups in the province have been declared “dismantled,” the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) said.

NOCPPO spokesperson, Police Capt. Judesses Catalogo said the declaration also applies to other drug groups that previously operated in the province.

Among those declared dismantled is the Bugalon Drug Group, wherein its leader, 49-year-old Jonalyn Bugalon, was arrested in an operation in Kabankalan City in August of last year.

Catalogo said they continue to monitor other groups such as the Vertucio Drug Group and the notorious Divinagracia Drug Group, wherein its members have laid low after their leader, Michael Divinagracia, was found dead in Rizal province’s Baras town on May 19, 2021.

Aside from managing the drug group, Divinagracia was also believed to have led a criminal group in Negros Occidental and was linked to several high-level robbery incidents both in the province and in Bacolod City.

The NOCPPO will still continue to monitor remaining drug groups, and will not stop conducting operations against dismantled groups if they are still involved in illegal drug activities, Catalogo said./DGB, WDJ