PNP Kalinga uses drone to find marijuana plantations

From the Philippine News Agency (May 26, 2021): PNP Kalinga uses drone to find marijuana plantations (By Liza Agoot)

DRONE SURVEILLANCE. Col. Davy Vicente Limmong, Kalinga Police Provincial Director, on Monday (May 24, 2021) said law enforcement agencies in the province are using drone cameras to find marijuana plantation sites. He said that it takes about two to five days to reach areas where the plantation sites are located allowing them to uproot, burn and destroy the plants. (Photo courtesy of istockphoto.com)

 Government forces in this province are now using drones to locate and eradicate marijuana plantations in the province.

Col. Davy Vicente Limmong, Kalinga police provincial director, said they have resorted to the use of drone to capture still and video images of marijuana plantation sites.

“Gumagamit tayo ng drone para matuntun natin ang ibang location ng plantation. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit medyo tuluy-tuloy ang ating mga marijuana eradication sa lahat ng lugar (We use drone so that we can identify the location of plantation sites. This is the reason why our eradication activities in different areas are continuing),” Limmong said in an interview on Monday.

As of January 2021, there were 18 eradication operations conducted by the Kalinga police. The biggest haul was that of last week where more than PHP50 million worth of fully grown marijuana plants and seedlings were uprooted and burned.

He said that plantation sites are far which take them about two to three days, sometimes five days to reach.

“Medyo hirap tayo at kinukuha natin nang mga ilang araw two to three days to five days. Pag akyat doon, hahanapin at medyo mahirap din ang paghahanap ng mga tanim na ito (it is difficult to reach the plantation sites. We take about two to three up to five days to reach them and locate them. It is difficult to look for these plants),” he said.

He added that “ang mga nagtatanim lang ang nakakaalam paano makapunta sa lugar (it is only the cultivators who know how to reach the place).”

Limmong said the plantation sites have gone much farther from the residential areas, making it difficult to locate them.

He said they also coordinate with other agencies like the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and concerned barangay officials who pinpoint the location of the plantation sites.

Aside from scouring new areas using the drone, he said they also constantly return to previously discovered plantation sites and more often find new marijuana plants.

The police officer mentioned of areas in Tinglayan which are constantly discovered to have plantation sites.

Limmong said they have difficulty apprehending cultivators because plantation sites are usually on public land or open spaces.

The officer expressed optimism that the marijuana cultivation problem in Kalinga can be eradicated once and for all.

“We can do that, we were able to stop it in 2016 but we need help not only on the enforcement side. We need to discourage the residents and give them alternative livelihood,” Limmong said.

He said that information education campaign is an essential part of the continuing activity of the Kalinga police to rid the province of the marijuana problem.

Governor Ferdinand Tubban, who is on his first term, in a separate interview, said “matagal na usapan (na 'yan). Ang gamut dyan is kung may development sa area (that has been the topic for a long time. The solution there is development)."

He said the local government has a road convergence program with the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Labor and Employment (DOLE) which is being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“That is the best solution, give them development because the areas have potential for any product that has a market. That will stop marijuana cultivation,” he said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141464