(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Wednesday, 27 March 2024) Easterlies affecting the eastern section of the country. Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur will experience Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to Easterlies / Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms.


PIA News Service - Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010

Authorities torched 1.6 M worth of uprooted MJ hauled from AgSur-Bukidnon border plantation 

Joint police, military and anti-illegal drug operatives scored a big haul in its anti-illegal drugs campaign recently when it uprooted and burned large volume of cultivated marijuana at a discovered plantation concealed among the thick vegetations not far from the forested mountain ranges along the borders of the Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon provinces.
 
Reports from Agusan del Sur police reaching police regional headquarters at Camp Rafael C. Rodriguez stated that a joint team coming from Agusan del Sur Police Provincial Office, Regional Public Safety Battalion personnel lead by PInsp. Archie Amores, Agusan del Sur Public Safety Company led by PCInsp. Romeo L. Ramos, La Paz Municipal Police Station personnel led by PInsp. Arvin Bolotano, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 13 agents led by Investigating Agent 5 Joel B. Plaza and a contingent from the Philippine Army led by Corporal Antonio Manser T. Morgadez, all under the direct supervision of Agusan del Sur Police Director PSSupt. Antonio B. Paguirigan, raided a Marijuana (Cannabis Sativa L.) plantation on the hinterlands of Sitio Tinkug, Barangay Casapa 1, La Paz, Agusan del Sur, 5:30 P.M. Monday.

In an interview with IA5 Joel B. Plaza, PDEA 13 deputy director this morning, he disclosed that the operation dubbed as “OPLAN DAHON 01-10” acted on persistent reports by some natives living near the area about the existence of the said marijuana plantation at the said place. 

There were actually two areas according to Plaza, which were reported to be planted with Marijuana. The fields, he said had blended so well with the nearby thickets and forests which hid it from view, making it hardly observable by casual trekkers or from the air. Plaza said that when the lawmen reached the first smaller area where the prohibited plants were reportedly intercropped with upland rice, they found out that the marijuana plants were already uprooted.

They however were successful in their second raid at another bigger area when they discovered the marijuana plantation in a 2,000 square meter field. The operatives successfully uprooted 8,100 stems of fully grown Marijuana plants, estimated to amount to one million six hundred thousand pesos (P 1,600,000.00) in value when sold.

Unfortunately, nobody was around neither were anybody in sight during the uprooting of the marijuana plants.

According to Plaza, that the Marijuana harvests from the said plantation could have sufficiently supplied the drug demands, not only of the Caraga region but also of the neighboring provinces of Bukidnon, and Misamis and even as far as the Davao areas.
For now, Plaza said their next move is to determine who the tillers of the said field are and to conduct a deeper probe and to gather more evidences for the filing of appropriate charges in court.

Due to the largeness of the volume of the Marijuana haul, the bulk of the uprooted plants were burned at the plantation site after its documentation with 400 stems of uprooted marijuana were brought down by the group for evidence and laboratory examination purposes. (Noel B. Najarro, The Butuan Star/PIA-Caraga)


PNP Chief postpones Caraga visit; legacy run indefinitely

Police Director General Jesus A. Versoza had postponed indefinitely his scheduled visit to the Caraga region, along with the legacy transformation run and the integrated transformation forum.

This was disclosed by PCInsp. Nelly T. Villagarcia, PRO 13 chief PIO in an interview at her office this morning. Villagarcia said that the indefinite postponement of the highest PNP official’s visit to the region was announced during a command conference at the regional headquarters conference room on Monday. It was accordingly due to some upcoming major development in the PNP hierarchy which may possibly initiate changes involving the country’s police topmost position. She did not elaborate but just hinted however, that the chief PNP had been called up by the President recently “for an important meeting” regarding the matter.

She said that they are still awaiting further instructions from their higher headquarters as to when will the scheduled visit of the general in the region be pushed through. Dir. Gen. Versoza and party was supposedly scheduled to arrive here in the region today, and to lead the legacy run early morning tomorrow and conduct the integrated transformation program forum afterwards.

In another development, it was also announced by CSupt. Lino DG Calingasan during the said command conference that Police Regional Office 13 bested the other 17 regions in the country when it got the topmost place in the implementation of the gun ban and checkpoint during the May 2010 elections. Also the regional police office made it to top three in terms of delivery of quality service during the period and that it got a positive public perception of 76.82 %. In the implementation of the integrated transformation program (ITP), it also got an acceptance approval of 68.37 %.

Villagarcia also disclosed that the PNP is now all set to initiate customer/clientele service training especially in the handling of its complaint desks so that it may become more acceptable and accessible to the public. She said that local and community partnership will be emphasized also during the said training. (Noel B. Najarro, The Butuan Star/PIA-Caraga)