More than 1,400 persons arrested for drug-related offenses in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental in 2005 may find themselves staying longer in jail.

This is because only 145 of the 1,554 drug cases filed in various courts of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental had been acted upon last year, records of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency show.

Of the 145 drug-related offenses acted on by various courts in Bacolod City alone, there were 73 convictions, dismissals - 26, acquittals - 14, with 32 archived, PDEA regional chief Rolen Balquin, said in his report.

PDEA reports also showed that in the same period, 306 drug cases were pending in Negros Occidental courts.

Balquin also said Bacolod City, which is among the key areas in Region 6 identified as the site for transshipment of drugs, topped the list with having the most number of pending drug cases with 1,296; Iloilo City - 798, Negros Occidental - 306, Capiz - 209, Iloilo - 147, Aklan - 132, Antique - 32 and Guimaras - 17.

PDEA reports also showed that shabu remains the number "drug of choice" by users in Western Visayas. Although clandestine drug laboratories and warehouses in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao have been dismantled, shabu still found its way to the key cities of the region but with a limited supply, the report said.

Due to its scarcity, a gram of shabu now costs P4,000, Balquin said.

There is no clandestine shabu laboratory or warehouse in the Western Visayas, although drug trafficking and abuses are serious concerns not only for government agencies but for the community as well, he added.

PDEA reports also indicated that six drug groups were neutralized in the region, while 426 pushers and 155 users had been arrested in separate operations, that also led the confiscation of 649 grams of shabu, estimated to have a market value of P2.2 million, and 4.4 kilos of dried marijuana leaves worth P222,367.

The PDEA also filed administrative and criminal complaints against nine policemen and three government prosecutors for allegedly bungling drug cases they had filed in court, and non-compliance with Department of Justice circulars.

Balquin said they have also conducted 44 symposium and seminar-workshops, attended by 19,044 persons, majority of them students.

He also asked the PDEA central office for the availability of forensic chemists to conduct drug tests on arrested drug personalities, and to examine confiscated substances believed to be illegal drugs.*GPB

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