Mayor Tessa Constantino of Malungon, Sarangani Province commended the recent police operation that resulted in the uprooting of a vast plantation of fully-grown marijuana along the conflicted tri-boundaries of South Cotabato, Sarangani, and Davao Del Sur.
“This is very alarming, if not prevented or devastated, as we look into the possible ill effects on our populace, particularly the young broods and students, if these dangerous weeds flood the local streets and/or the neighboring metropolis,” Constantino said in a media interview amid an ongoing LGU-initiated “Lingap sa Barangay” program in Barangay Lower Mainit.
“The police-spearheaded raid has enabled the destruction of 11,500 fully grown marijuana plants with an estimated street value of P2.3 million.”
In a report, Malungon COP Lt. Col. Jovenson Bayona said the police-spearheaded raid, in cooperation with the military and in close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, has enabled the destruction of 11,500 fully grown marijuana plants with an estimated street value of P2.3 million.
These were uprooted in two disputed areas that are located right at the disputed borderlines of Sitio Kelil Datal, Barangay Datal Batong, Malungon, Sarangani Province and Sitio Nuket in Brgy. Bulol Salo, Kiblawan, Davao del Sur.
“This raid aims not just to destroy the plantation but, likewise, to arrest and put behind bars those suspected of being responsible for the illicit cultivation.”
“We decided to uproot, gather and torch the dangerous plants, having no other choice because of the distance and rugged terrain from its origin to the lowlands. This raid aims not just to destroy the plantation but, likewise, to arrest and put behind bars those suspected of being responsible for the illicit cultivation. But however, the suspects were able to elude during the seizure sensing the approach of the operating lawmen,” Bayona explained.
Since the neighboring municipalities of Kiblawan and Malungon, including South Cotabato, have already forged a joint declaration for an all-out war against the illegal planting or possession of marijuana plants since the year 2000, the eradication on March 12, 2024, is considered the most recent commendable accomplishment of the police force.
It can be recalled that the father of the lady mayor, Reynaldo “Bongbong” Constantino, a three-term undefeated mayor, has in the early years spearheaded a massive anti-marijuana plantation campaign, scouring the hinterlands of Malungon town.
This resulted in the destruction of millions worth of illegal weeds and the LGU initiating mass herbicide spraying in the various purportedly “marijuana-saturated” areas in the vicinity.
