Quezon’s biggest drug lord ‘Athel’ Alcala surrenders
Lucena City, Quezon — Police said they have in custody two members of a prominent family in Quezon who are involved in big-time drug trafficking.
Cerilo “Athel” Alcala, 59, and his son Sajid, 36, surrendered Sunday at the city’s police station, accompanied by his brother Quezon 2nd District Rep. Vicente Alcala and City Mayor Roderick A. Alcala.
The police have tagged Cerilo Alcala as Quezon’s biggest drug lord.
Cerilo “Athel” Alcala, 59, and his son Sajid, 36, surrendered Sunday at the city’s police station, accompanied by his brother Quezon 2nd District Rep. Vicente Alcala and City Mayor Roderick A. Alcala.
The police have tagged Cerilo Alcala as Quezon’s biggest drug lord.
He and his son were later presented to the media by Lucena police chief Dennis de Leon and Quezon provincial police director Antonio Yarra.
Cerilo faced drug charges following a raid of his house in Lucena by an anti-narcotics team in September, 2008, Sajid was also charged but is out on bail.
Congressman Alcala said he fetched Cerilo from a hospital in Manila and advised him to surrender to police to clear his name.
Mayor Alcala had ordered the Lucena police to arrest Cerilo Alcala, who is his uncle, and his cousin Sajid.
The Alcalas are the latest high-profile personalities who have turned themselves in amid the government’s massive sweep of drug dealers and users.
The sweep has netted hundreds of thousands of individuals, and their numbers threaten to overwhelm government drug treatment facilities.
Cerilo faced drug charges following a raid of his house in Lucena by an anti-narcotics team in September, 2008, Sajid was also charged but is out on bail.
Congressman Alcala said he fetched Cerilo from a hospital in Manila and advised him to surrender to police to clear his name.
Mayor Alcala had ordered the Lucena police to arrest Cerilo Alcala, who is his uncle, and his cousin Sajid.
The Alcalas are the latest high-profile personalities who have turned themselves in amid the government’s massive sweep of drug dealers and users.
The sweep has netted hundreds of thousands of individuals, and their numbers threaten to overwhelm government drug treatment facilities.
On Sunday, a senator urged Malacañang to include funding for the rehabilitation of drug personalities in the proposed P3.3-trillion national budget for 2017.
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the proposed budget, which would be sent to Congress today, should include appropriations for the rehabilitation of drug users who want a new lease in life.
Angara said he believes a strong national drug rehabilitation program is the logical next step to the administration’s crusade against drugs.
“It is not enough that we have a budget for the ‘jail the pusher’ part. We must also fund the ‘save the user’ component of the anti-drug campaign,” Angara said.
He warned that without that component, there will be a “gaping hole” in the government’s war against drugs.
“We should help addicts turn a new leaf. They need help. Without intervention, there’s a strong chance they’ll backslide to their old ways. If that happens, then we’re back to square one,” the senator said.
“There’s none (appropriation) in the P154-billion budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and a measly P634.4-million for the Operation of Dangerous Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers of the Department of Health (DOH),” Angara said.
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the proposed budget, which would be sent to Congress today, should include appropriations for the rehabilitation of drug users who want a new lease in life.
Angara said he believes a strong national drug rehabilitation program is the logical next step to the administration’s crusade against drugs.
“It is not enough that we have a budget for the ‘jail the pusher’ part. We must also fund the ‘save the user’ component of the anti-drug campaign,” Angara said.
He warned that without that component, there will be a “gaping hole” in the government’s war against drugs.
“We should help addicts turn a new leaf. They need help. Without intervention, there’s a strong chance they’ll backslide to their old ways. If that happens, then we’re back to square one,” the senator said.
“There’s none (appropriation) in the P154-billion budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and a measly P634.4-million for the Operation of Dangerous Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers of the Department of Health (DOH),” Angara said.
“For a problem so big, treatment of drug addiction has very, very small footprint in the national budget. This should not be the case in the 2017 national budget,” he stressed.
He said drug prevention funds could even extend to providing technical skills training to vulnerable youth, via the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“For addicts who have dropped out of school, we should increase funding for Alternative Learning System programs,” Angara said.
Along with the rising number of surrendering drug personalities, there is growing concern about the increase in extrajudicial killings linked to the all-out campaign against illegal drugs.
Senior Supt. Fausto Manzanilla, executive officer of the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said his group is still doing background work on all the cases of alleged extrajudicial killings to establish if they are drug-related, perpetrated by vigilante groups or simply the usual murder or homicide cases.
“So far, the data submitted to us, those deaths are still under investigation, meaning, there’s no definite result yet,” Manzanilla said.
Going by the Philippine National Police’s count, almost 600 drug personalities have been killed in police operations across the country. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza and Aaron B. Recuenco)
He said drug prevention funds could even extend to providing technical skills training to vulnerable youth, via the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
“For addicts who have dropped out of school, we should increase funding for Alternative Learning System programs,” Angara said.
Along with the rising number of surrendering drug personalities, there is growing concern about the increase in extrajudicial killings linked to the all-out campaign against illegal drugs.
Senior Supt. Fausto Manzanilla, executive officer of the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said his group is still doing background work on all the cases of alleged extrajudicial killings to establish if they are drug-related, perpetrated by vigilante groups or simply the usual murder or homicide cases.
“So far, the data submitted to us, those deaths are still under investigation, meaning, there’s no definite result yet,” Manzanilla said.
Going by the Philippine National Police’s count, almost 600 drug personalities have been killed in police operations across the country. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza and Aaron B. Recuenco)
Source: Manila Bulletin
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Quezon’s biggest drug lord ‘Athel’ Alcala surrenders
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