By: Jennifer P. Rendon
For 2020, the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s main goal remains unchanged: go after high-value target (HVT) drug personalities.
In the case of Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), these HVTs include 105 individuals believed to be active in the illegal drugs trade.
As expected, most of these HVT drug personalities are either in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, two areas in Western Visayas where millions of pesos worth of illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, were confiscated in recent months.
The 105 targets are in Negros Occidental (50), Bacolod City (32), Iloilo province (11), Capiz (4), Antique and Iloilo City (3 each), and Aklan and Guimaras provinces (1 each).
Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, PRO-6 spokesperson, clarified that the number could change because of the “reloading” during the periodic assessment of the Regional Oversight Committee.
“If we monitor another target operating, that’s being added to the list,” Malong said.
These HVT drug personalities will be subjected to police operations until they are neutralized.
PRO-6 records showed that the 105 HVT drug personalities are part of its 1,632 high value targets police have listed from Dec. 5, 2017 to Dec. 19, 2019.
Negros Occidental has the most number of HVT drug personalities at 440 while Bacolod City has 370.
Iloilo City listed 271 targets while Iloilo province has 243 HVT personalities; Aklan with 92; Capiz with 91; Antique with 89; and Guimaras with 36.
Of the total HVT targets, 922 were already arrested while 100 cannot be located.
Most of those who just vanished from their last known address are from Iloilo City with 40.
“They could have relocated to other areas,” Malong said.
She said 444 drug personalities have surrendered but are still under monitoring.
“They could always surrender and still continue their operations. That’s why, monitoring still continues,” she said.
Meanwhile, thirty of the HVT drug personalities died during police operations while seven died due to natural causes.
Also, 23 HVT drug personalities died after they were gunned down by motorcycle-riding suspects.
A lone drug personality from Iloilo City has monitored to have gone abroad.
TOP DRUGGIE
Malong said the hunt for Ernesto “Erning” Bolivar, Western Visayas’ top drug personalities continues.
The PRO-6 and the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) had stressed that efforts to arrest Bolivar was never put on the backburner.
More than two years after he was placed on their radar, police have yet to collar Bolivar.
Bolivar has remained elusive despite the help of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and monetary rewards offered by the government.
He has been spotted in Metro Manila and at least three nearby provinces in Luzon.
In January 2019, he reportedly went to Iloilo to visit his lover. He passed by Capiz province using a fake name.
Police are not discounting the possibility that he underwent plastic surgery or facial enhancement, which his girlfriend also went through.
In January 2018, police authorities almost caught up with Bolivar but he again slipped past them.
Last year, police said Bolivar had been all over Visayas and Luzon and was also spotted in Bicol Region.
