THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has confiscated illegal drugs valued at over P77.5 million in the first 100 days of Police Colonel Enrico Figueroa, who assumed his post as city police chief last January 11, 2025.
Comparative crime data from January 11 to April 21, 2025 also shows a 25.51 percent decrease in the overall crime volume in Cebu City compared to the same period last year.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, the CCPO’s deputy city director for operations, 671 citywide anti-illegal drug operations were conducted during this period.
These operations resulted in the seizure of 11,409.38 grams of shabu, estimated to have a standard drug price of P77,583,784.00, and the arrest of 756 individuals involved in the illegal drug trade.
“If his was not taken off the streets, many users, or most likely our youth, would have been victimized, and it would evolve into other forms of crime,” said Macatangay in a mix of Cebuano and English.
The CCPO also reported significant progress in other anti-criminality efforts.
They arrested 586 individuals involved in illegal gambling during 307 separate operations. Additionally, 142 unlicensed firearms were confiscated, and 170 guns were voluntarily surrendered to police stations for safekeeping.
Furthermore, 297 wanted persons with outstanding warrants for various offenses were apprehended during the 100-day period.
Ordinances
A key initiative under Figueroa’s leadership, ‘Oplan Bulabog,’ which enforces all city ordinances, has also yielded results.
Police rescued 6,350 minors found violating curfew ordinances during late-night checks of 23,044 individuals on the streets.
The operation also involved assessments of 69,672 business establishments, leading to the issuance of 510 citation tickets for local ordinance violations such as smoking, drinking, and littering in public areas.
Macatangay said Oplan Bulabog is central to the CCPO’s proactive crime prevention strategy, which is supported by community involvement.
Notably, the eight focus crimes (murder, robbery, theft, homicide, rape, physical injury, and car theft) saw a reduction from 243 incidents in the first quarter of 2024 to 181 in the corresponding period of 2025.
“The statistics do not lie, and these are obtained from info-terminals that we call police stations, so we are really just basing it on the count of those complaints that were blottered at the police stations,” Macatangay explained.
She also noted that reported crimes in the city are largely isolated incidents.
The CCPO is further enhancing its operational capabilities by strengthening the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) and establishing new police stations (Stations 12 and 13) to improve response times, particularly in the city’s mountain barangays.
Enhanced night patrols and consistent Comelec checkpoint operations are also being implemented by the CCPO. (AYB)
