Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is looking forward to a drug-free MassKara Festival which climaxes on Sunday, October 22, after the P20.5 million shabu haul of the Bacolod police on Tuesday.
The mayor, during a press conference on Wednesday, October 18, thanked City Police Director Col. Noel Aliño for their latest operation, saying it was one of the biggest drug hauls in Western Visayas.
The police arrested Jummel “Tata” Camento, a high-value target in a buy-bust operation, and seized 3.20 kilograms of shabu valued at P20,536,000 in Bacolod City on Tuesday.
With lesser sources of illegal drugs, the crime rate will also drop, especially now that the city is approaching the highlights of the MassKara Festival, Benitez said.
About 70 percent of the crimes in the city are drug-related, he pointed out.
Aliño also assured that the festival will be drug-free after arrest of Camento whom they are making sure will face an airtight case.
The suspect was arrested in 2012 for alleged illegal possession of drugs but the case was dismissed in 2022.
“We will not just stop in arresting and filing a case, there should be conviction of the suspects,” Aliño said.
During the press conference at the mayor’s office, Benitez turned over a reward with an undisclosed amount to Aliño for their successful operation.
Benitez also assured that they are working on creating a plan to ensure that the entry of illegal drugs into the city will be mitigated.
“We will come up with a strategy to arrest the illegal drug traders, including tracking of possible entry points within the city,” he said.
“The city director has no holds barred as the whole police and enforcement agencies are behind it”, Benitez said.*