PRO7's NEW ANTI-DRUG STRATEGY KEY TO EFFECTIVE POLICING

The Police Regional Office 7 vowed to sustain its drive against illegal drugs under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., including an aggressive education campaign for the young ones.

Police Brigadier General Jerry Bearis, the new director of PRO7 in Central Visayas, urged all police officers to continue the fight against illegal drugs by adopting a new strategy emphasizing transparency and accountability in collaboration with local government authorities and the community, the key to improving the effectiveness of the police force in Central Visayas. 

As he took the helm, PRO7 has performed a total of 492 operations which resulted in the arrest of 622 drug personalities and the confiscation of 7,126.76 grams of shabu worth PhP48,461,968.00 and marijuana with 404.60 grams valued at PhP48,552.00 from December 19, 2022, to January 20, 2023.

According to Bearis, law enforcement efforts take on a whole new dimension in policing and law enforcement supported by an aggressive informational drive and educational campaign targeting students, who are frequently the key demographic of drug organizations. 

"Our anti-illegal drugs campaign adopts a whole-of-government approach, which would only be effective if we can carry out plans like the local anti-drug plan of action and barangay anti-drug plan of action down at the grassroots. It is crucial that our LGUs collaborate with us and work on a common goal of an action-based anti-drug plan", he said. 

The new strategy, motivated by the Israeli Diplomacy and National Security learning, in one of his studies abroad would help Bisdak cops in fighting crime and enhance police professionalism and transparency in crime prevention and law enforcement. 

Bearis said the main areas on which the new strategy focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration for drug dependents, which highlights the following: 

1. The fight against illegal drugs must be comprehensive, analytical, community-based, and human rights-sensitive. PRO 7’s strategy is deeply anchored on SILG’s BIDA (Buhay ay Ingatan, Droga ay Ayawan) program of SILG and the MKK=K, Peace, and Security Framework of CPNP. 

2. Balance approach between aggressive supply reduction and demand reduction. We should be as aggressive in demand reduction as we are in supply reduction; 

3. To significantly reduce supply, we will throw our 100% support to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s One Cebu Inter-Agency Task Force Against Illegal Drugs. We believe that by sealing Central Visayas, illegal drug supply will be reduced to the minimum level. To this, the multi-agency approach is indispensable; 

4. Community-based approach against illegal drugs which means employing the support of the LGU, other agencies, stakeholders, and the community. Illegal drugs are everyone’s concern; 

5. Aggressive demand reduction strategy by ensuring that previous drug users will be converted into Anti-Illegal Drug Advocates. We shall convert these people into hard-core government allies in the fight against illegal drugs. We will create battalions of Anti-Drug Advocates across the region as our strong allies in the prevention of the proliferation of illegal drugs; and 

6. The fight against illegal drugs and crimes will proceed from the analysis of the illegal drug situation in Central Visayas. To this effect, we have created the Center for Public Safety Analysis (CPSA), which is an Israel-inspired strategy for defeating the menace. The keywords were Intelligence, analysis, and foresight. 

Adopting a set of strategies, Bearis believed would prevent individuals and communities from participating in drug trafficking and production. 

"This is everyone's concern. The time has come that we decide to work together and see the big picture. Let us put our actions into one for a drug-free Central Visayas community working in partnership with a responsive community for a safer place to live, work and do business", he added.