by Redjie Cawis

Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan ordered the police to strengthen their campaign against illegal activities in the province.

 Fongwan has ordered the Benguet Provincial Office to strengthen the campaign on top priority problems in the province he identified as illegal logging, planting of marijuana and illegal gambling.

These concerns are affecting the province, the governor said. Benguet has been tagged as marijuana producer. Fongwan said the police should continue and totally eradicate plantations of marijuana in the province particularly the municipalities of Kibungan, Kapangan, and Bakun.

Recently, the joint forces of the BPPO and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency destroyed more than one million pesos worth of marijuana during the eradication conducted in Bakun recently.

On the other hand, illegal gambling particularly jueteng has again resurrected in the province. Fongwan stands firm that illegal gambling is not accepted in the province as he ordered the police to put a stop to the operations in the municipalities.

Fongwan also identified illegal logging to be prioritized by the police in line with Executive Order 23 or the implementation of the Total Log Ban ordered by President Benigno Aquino III.

He stressed that anti-logging should be stopped to preserve the environment since climate change is now taking its toll around globally.

Fongwan ordered the BPPO to conduct information dissemination to let the people of Benguet know why they have to stop these illegal activities for their own sake, the environment and to other people.

The people should be aware of the negative effects of marijuana as an illegal drugs, and that they should also be educated on the negative effects to the environment of the continuous cutting of trees, he explained.
Fongwan also wanted the people to be educated on the laws and punishments that are attendant to the illegal activities. *(PIA CAR)