| By JENNIFER PONSARAN-RENDON |

The conflagration that hit the three villages of Iloilo City during Dinagyang Festival has crippled the illegal drug activities in the area.

However, it doesn’t mean that it would also force drug pushers into oblivion, said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) – Western Visayas regional director Yogi Felimon Ruiz.

“Naturally, it will slow down but we presumed that it would just result to a drug spill over in other known seriously-drug affected areas,” he added.

Based on PDEA records, fire-hit villages of Tanza-Esperanza and Malipayon in City Proper district are two of the nine seriously-affected barangays in Iloilo City.

There is also a known drug trade in the conflagrated Tanza-Timawa.

But with the fire wiping 409 houses in the three barangays, Ruiz deemed that illegal transactions would just be diverted to Brgy. Bakhaw in Mandurriao district and Brgy. Desamparados in Jaro.

“Illegal drug users would look for other alternative sources and we foresee that the two villages might be hot spots for them. They would be the one to determine the area,” Ruiz said.

PDEA said that there are no other known drug peddling areas that could match up the stocks in the three fire-hit areas other than Bakhaw, which was earlier labeled as city’s drug haven, and its neighboring village of Desamparados.

“Dahil may mga nasunog na drug dens at stocks, maghahanap sila ng mapupuntahan. The presence of squatters area that made it hard for operatives to penetrate pose good prospects for users,” Ruiz said.

But he claimed that PDEA is now studying every move that illegal pushers and users are doing to continue the busted trade, albeit temporarily, in the three barangays.

But in the meantime, Ruiz said that everything is still under wraps.*