Kidapawan anti-drug tipsters get cash reward

KIDAPAWAN CITY –At least 10 informants and assets of the intelligence division of the local police here received P50 thousand cash incentives from City Mayor Joseph Evangelista. Evangelista said these assets helped authorities in North Cotabato arrest at least nine suspected drug couriers whom they considered as ‘top suppliers’ of methamphetamine hydrochloride or locally known as ‘shabu,’an illegal drug. Also, the mayor is set to give commendations to informants or tipsters, police, and other law enforcement units who were responsible for the simultaneous buy-bust raids and search operations on Friday in suspected drug dens in the city. It has been my policy to give incentives to informants so to encourage the community to assist us [in our campaigns against illegal drugs],” said the mayor. Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum, provincial police director of North Cotabato, said the incentives will also help local police neutralize drug dealers within the community. Tagum said the city, one of the most progressive cities in Central Mindanao, has become the ‘dropping point’ of illegal drugs coming from nearby towns and in other areas in Central Mindanao. Among the many customers or buyers of shabu in the city are students, he said. This is why Evangelista has included in his campaign against drugs the conduct of random drug tests among high school and college students in the city. Earlier, at least seven students from a public secondary schoolhere tested positive for marijuana use. Another three students tested positive for drug use when Evangelista has again ordered another set of random drug tests among selected students at the University of Southern Mindanao – Kidapawan City Campus and at the Kidapawan City National High School, two of the biggest state- owned learning institutions in the city. At least 125 students whounderwent random tests on Thursday. Also, among the Cotabato police provincial office, Tagum ordered a mandatory drug tests among 120 police personnel, including chiefs of police, operatives of the intelligence division, and non-commissioned officers. Three of Tagum’s men allegedlysubmitted questionable urine samples during the tests. These policemen identified only in their surnames as Salac, Shiga, and Quijano were all assigned at the Antipas municipal police station. They were first assigned at the Magpet police station where they were charged of absent without official leave (AWOL), reports said.