MANDAUE City Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing instructed the Mandaue City Police Office to be present during parties, especially for the upcoming Sinulog, and in areas that have similar activities to avoid party drugs to get inside these events.
Quisumbing assured that he will cancel the business permits of any establishment that will be found out “coddling” illegal drugs.
This followed after two businessmen were caught with party drugs in a police operation in Mandaue.
“I have told and ordered the police to make their presence very much felt not just during these parties but even on a normal weekend or anytime,” said Quisumbing.
A joint operation of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit and Regional Special Operations Group in Central Visayas led to the arrest of Neil Benjamin Eugenio Yap, 33, and Richard Ngo Go, 40, in a hotel on A. C. Cortes Avenue in Mandaue last Friday, January 12.
They were arrested for their alleged involvement in selling prohibited party drug.
In a previous report from VoxPop Cebu, the drug bust happened at the R Suites Cafe, which is owned by Go.
Authorities seized a pack with 10 pieces of blue square tablets believed to be Blue Telegram Ecstasy; a pack of orange capsule believed to be Orange Amore Ecstasy; a plastic bottle containing orange liquid substance from Go while 15 capsules believed to be ecstasy from Yap.
Quisumbing said they are now investigating the hotel of Go and if they find out that the establishment is used as a “distribution point” of illegal drugs, its business permit will be immediately cancelled.
“We have received information about the proliferation of these party drugs in many of these high end bars around Metro Cebu and I’m telling them now if we find any evidence I will immediately cancel the business permit of any establishment or any party that is found to be coddling these drugs,” said Quisumbing.
Organizers of LifeDance festival were able to get a mayor’s permit to hold their event in Mandaue on January 19.
Two other party organizers were still in the process of securing the permit.
Lawyer Mae Elaine Bathan, chief-of-staff of the city mayor, said the businessmen recently caught are not part or among of the organizers of the parties that will be held in Mandaue for the Sinulog.
