Finally Gov. Edgar M.Chatto and the Provincial Police Office under Provincial Director P/SSupt Dennis Palo Agustin declared an open war against illegal drugs in the province of Bohol. Thanks to the ultimate sacrifice that P/CIns George Cana and P/SPO1NoelRomagosoffered on the altar of peace and order by dying with their boots on, so to speak. Armed men waylaid and killed Romagos before he could enter his house in Poblacion, Danao, Bohol a month ago; while Cana was also killed with high calibre automatic rifles by vehicle-riding gunmen while he was on his way home to Balintawak,Talibon last week. Both police officers were known active advocates against illegal drugs.

In fact Cana during his interview over the radio days before he was killed, called on Boholano parents to be active and vigilant against illegal drugs by keeping watch over their children against the menace of illegal drugs. He even quoted the last lines of the Bohol Hymn which seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. The line runs this way “Ihaladkolawasugkalagsamutyakong Bohol.” A non-Boholano by blood and place of birth, Cana showed the Boholanos how this line could be exemplified. Before the gunmen could celebrate their success, police operatives, angered and challenged by the bold and open defiance of the law by Romagos' and Cana's killers, swooped on the unsuspecting killers resting in their hideout by the beach in Bien Unido. In the exchange of gunfire that ensued six of the suspected gunmen were killed including their purported leader, PO1 Owen Rosales who had been dismissed from the police service for having gone AWOL (absent without Leave). Rosales has been pinpointed as a police-turned-drug-lord a long time ago but he could not just be pinned down. By killing Cana, he exposed his Achilles heel that led to his death. Romagos' and Cana's heroism provided the staging ground for Gov. Chatto to make his call to “arms” and open declaration of war against illegal drugs.

The Agora sounded its own warning and clarion call since last year because by then we already sensed the threat of the growing menace to our society. By killing Romagos and Cana, the illegal drug operators in Bohol have shown the extent of their operation and what they are capable of doing now. Unless Boholanos heed the call and act as one against these modern evil, it will not be long before we see the ugly reign of narco-politics take over theaffairs of our society. It has been said that no illegal activities can thrive unless they enjoy some kind of protection from those in authority. To grow into their present capabilities now, they must have enjoyed the protection of those in authority before. It was only in the tour of duty of P/SSupt Agustin that we saw a more relentless drive by the police against illegal drugs. Despite that, there are still information filtering in that a few policemen are in the payroll of these drug lords. This has been shown many times by the fact that in serving Search Warrants issued by the court, the police found the place already “cleaned” by the time they arrived.Who else would know that there is an impending warrant to be served?

At this point just a call to war is not enough. A battle plan must be put in place and carried out down to the sitio and purok levels. Mobilization approaches in the likes of the Bayani Challenge and the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) of the Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran are successful models that could be adopted. In many of the local government units (LGUs), the Anti-Drug Abuse Councils are existing only in paper and have never been operationalized. It will take more than an anti-drug abuse council to identify and implement such measures and solutions to curve if not totally eliminate illegal drugs in Bohol. The battle against illegal drugs must be community-led if it has to succeed. The police, the PDEA and other law enforcement agencies should only play a parallel and supportive role. Families should heed the fallen policemen's appeal to exercise watchfulness against the drug menace which is now a social threat,even to the point of sacrificing one's life for loved ones.