The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is monitoring more members of the academe, not only in Negros Occidental but in the entire Western Visayas, for alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

PDEA Region-6 Director, Yogi Ruiz, told the DAILY STAR yesterday that they continue to receive text messages from concerned citizens regarding teachers and other members of the academe who are allegedly into illegal drug use.

He said they are validating the reports and will act on them.

PDEA Intelligence Division chief Intelligence Officer 3 Cerilo Baluma had earlier said they arrested a public school teacher in drug buy-bust operation in Brgy. 2. This proves that there are, indeed, educators who are into illegal drug use.

Baluma added that the arrest of a Schools Division Supervisor of Department of Education in an alleged drug den in Brgy. Banago is another proof.

PDEA is closely coordinating with DepEd Region 6 Director Mildred Garay to work on these concerns by conducting a school-to-school anti-drug symposium stress the ill effects of illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, PDEA-6 is on alert status over the possible entry into the country of a synthetic drug called "bath salts".  Ruiz however said the illegal drug has not yet reached Western Visayas.

The agency is also monitoring local markets for identified imported brand names of bath salt, also called “Ivory Wave”, “Purple Wave”, “Red Dove”, “Blue Silk”, “Zoom”, “Bloom”, Cloud Nine”, “Ocean Snow”, “Lunar Wave”, “Vanilla Sky”, “White Lightning”, “Scarface” and “Hurricane Charlie”.

The “bath salt” drug usually contains mephedrones, a white powdery designer drug having similar effects as those of ecstasy and amphetamine that can have harmful effects on the body.

PDEA is currently recommending the inclusion in list of dangerous drugs because mephedrone is not classified as an illegal drug in the country. The “Bath salt” drug is blamed for the  series of cannibalism incidents in the U.S.A.*APN

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