News around the City

A few tit bits of News, hit the little Red>>>> for the full story on each
DAILY STAR: Negros Oriental

 

Statically a nice score, do I have to believe that once users and pushers do surrender they are longer addicted to use or to push it.
My five cents says................!!??

 

Are drugs that bad there? I was curious so I went and looked for USA statistics. The data is a little old but a couple of interesting things. It seems like it would be better to outlaw alcohol based on the statics.

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Drugs and Crime Facts: Drug Use and Crime

In 2004, 17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. These percentages represent a slight increase for federal prisoners (16% in 1997) and a slight decrease for state prisoners (19% in 1997).

Here is the victims perception. Alcohol far exceeds drugs.

 

Here's a funny little story that highlights how meaningless this all is.

I brought a family member across from Cebu to help out on some construction work. Solid fellow, father to four, honest as the day is long. My bad, as I should have hired a local as the next thing I know is that the baranguay names him as a drug user and he is required to surrender at the local police station.

I'm not having anything of this I say, let's go talk to the baranguay captain. A discussion follows in which I hear the words "liquidation squad". I suggest an affidavit that my man has never used drugs (which he hasn't). The baranguay captain says he won't sign as my man is from Cebu and not on his voters register. I say, but this is your accusation. Conversation comes to a halt. Go back to Cebu is the gist.

I have my man call his baranguay chief in Cebu. All is fine and dandy, affidavit prepared, but the police want it from our local baranguay chief...who won't sign. The net result is my man signs a piece of paper attesting to the fact that voluntarily and without coercion he confesses to using drugs on 3 occasions in 1997. He is photographed and sent on his way. He treats this as a giggle, but understands that if he refused to sign he would make himself a bigger target. The stats are improved by one and during the rest of the day we meet the baranguay drunk (aged 60+) also a similar criminal so it seems. Various loafers, karaoke addicts, under employed clowns also 'fess up...must be living in a Shabu hotbed it seems....

C

 

I am a little confused. How did they know he was there and his name to be able to name him as anything? How did you/he know they were looking for him? Did he have interactions with locals once you got him there? Were they looking for someone else with the same name? Was/is there something that could have been done or avoided (besides not bring him) that would have prevented this from happening?

 

He's a relative, he used to live here, he went to Cebu for work a few years back. I brought him back for this project. I already have locals working here, it's pretty impossible to be invisible. This was tsimis pure and simple. He was handed a piece of paper by some baranguay gopher telling him to report to the police. The baranguay Chiefs were told to compile a list of drug users and instruct the accused to surrender. I have no idea why they named him. My theory is that someone's nose was pushed out of joint when I appointed him as chief electrician - and not the loafer I usually employ when stuff needs doing. Other than that no compendo as to the whys, what's and how's. A simple instruction from the baranguay chief to surrender was all it took. No evidence, just the say so of the baranguay captain. It stinks.

C

 

Just another day in paradise. Business as usual.