NOT THAT HIGH. City of San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago disclaims overblown reports of drug “affectation” of his city’s barangays, with chief of police Supt. Rechie Duldulao providing statistical evidence. Photo by Bong Lacson
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – By next year, a new bypass road from the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA) leading to the city proper through Barangay San Jose here will be opened not only to ease traffic but also to discourage criminality.
Mayor Edwin “Edsa” Santiago said some P50 million was earmarked for the two-lane, 500-meter long bypass road which he calls “Tourism Evacuation Road” that will run parallel to the Balimbing Creek. Once completed, Santiago said the alternate route that is presently being used at Greenville Subdivision will be closed to discourage criminals from using the subdivision as their hideout.
Criminal groups have often leased properties inside the said subdivision because it is just a few meters from the North Luzon Expressway and has easy access to the city proper and other major thoroughfares in the city.
The mayor also said during a press conference on Wednesday at the Heroes Hall here that the city government is seriously looking into the illegal drugs problem in the city. He admitted that only eight barangays out of 35 remained “drug free.”
But as of last month, 53 suspects were arrested in connection with the relentless campaign against illegal drugs, according to chief of police, Supt. Rechie Duldulao. She said as part of the campaign, Bantay Bayans (village watchmen) will be subjected to random drug tests that will be conducted by the PNP crime laboratory.
“Peace and order is everybody’s concern,” Duldulao said as she enjoined village officials to immediately report any suspicious looking characters in their areas. She told the media that there are no “vigilante killings” and blamed rival criminal gangs in the killing of suspected drug pushers in the city.
Duldulao said despite the number of arrests in connection with illegal drugs as of September, still the menace seemed to be on the decline as compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, Santiago said to augment the police force now only numbering to 100 policemen in the city of 285,000, the city government is offering full scholarship grants to students who want to take up criminology and other essential courses.
The mayor said as of now, some 2,300 scholars taking up various essential courses in the City College of San Fernando and other schools are being subsidized by the city government.
