CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The raid on a piggery in Magalang, Pampanga, where an underground methamphetamine hydrochloride laboratory was discovered, prompted Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” G. Pineda to spring into action by immediately calling for a province-wide summit on Wednesday, exactly a week after the drug bust.
The summit, dubbed “Updates on the Anti-illegal Drugs Campaign in the Province of Pampanga,” was held at the Kingsborough Convention Center here. Almost all the 505 barangay chairmen in the province were present and most of its mayors, as well as municipal health officers (MHO), municipal social welfare and development officers (MSWDOs); chiefs of police; and city, municipal and barangay licensing officers took part in the meeting.
Board Member Rosve Henson, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Public Order and Security, made the welcome remarks, noting that it has been 50 days since some 10,200 drug surrenderees were herded at the Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex here on July 21.
Now, Pineda wants concrete municipal and barangay action plans, as well as regular monitoring of drug surrenderees. She also cautioned municipal and barangay licensing officers to be wary of applicants, especially if they are foreigners.
“Four years ago, I already told licensing officers, mayors and barangay captains…before you give business permits or licenses, especially if they are foreigners who would like to operate piggeries, you need to look and inspect their premises,” she said.
“Do not issue licenses if they refuse to be checked even if they pay you, you should check regularly and randomly to prevent these unscrupulous groups from turning their business into a criminal activity,” she warned.
During the summit, Pineda grieved over the killing of a mother and her son, which happened just hours earlier right in her hometown of Lubao, as she warned barangay captains to be aware of drug users and pushers in their villages.
She said she knew the victims’ family well. They are from a coastal village in Barangay San Jose Gumi. The father of the victim was a former village chief, while her late mother was a district supervisor of the Department of Education.
The governor also said a friend from Virginia, US, told her that Capampangans abroad are now very wary in coming home because of what happened during the recent town fiesta in Apalit, where a balikbayan was mauled to death by suspected drug addicts.
Pineda said the victim’s wife is in Australia and up to now the assailants are still at large. “But we are looking for them and, in fact, I have put up a reward money of P100,000 per head for any information leading to the arrests of the three suspects,” she declared.
“That is why we are here today. It is not enough that we lectured the surrenderees that now number more than 11,000,” she said.
“We need to make municipal and barangay action plans. How can we report to President Duterte on what we did with the 11,000 surrenderors. Where’s the follow-up?” she asked.