Is Marijuana forever in Kalinga?

When it comes to Marijuana, there is no doubt that the province stands out as one of the main sources of this much sought green gold, owing primarily to the geographical feature and fertile soil which make it easy for the plant to grow with minimal human intervention.

For years, drug enforcement agencies and other enforcement arms of the government have been trying to put an end to Marijuana cultivation in the province, but it seems like Marijuana is forever. There appears to be a long running relationship of hide and seek between the agents and the cultivators, with find uproot and burn activity of the former and plant again for the latter.

Needless to say, easy money and lack of better alternatives for more lucrative sources of income are in the top list of reasons behind the perpetual cultivation apart from the fact that Kalinga probably produces the best type of marijuana products which draw patrons from all over the country.

Interview with Kalinga Police

Kalinga Police Provincial Director PCol. Davy Vicente Limmong admitted the difficulty of total eradication of Marijuana in Kalinga given the lack of manpower and the vastness of the area to be monitored.

On the side of the cultivators, Limmong said it is money.

“Ti makitak ditoy is the business is very lucrative, there are a lot of buyers. So nu makitam ditoy uray diyay maysa nga kilo ket 5,000 or 10,000 you could just easily produce it there, agmula ka lang iti area. So nu awan iti patronizers nga buyer, awanen agsardeng da,” he said.

“Siguro kung hindi mataas ang demand, siguro maglie low yan. It’s the demand kasi,” he added.

The funny thing is that Limmong said they have found some users of Marijuana but very few and these are usually teenagers. “Awan pay nadiscover mi nga heavy users iti Marijuana, shabu yes but Marijuana awan. Merong mga teenager, ‘yung mga high school yan pero as to talaga nga as in addict dun sa [Marijuana], wala,” he said.

This means the customers are from other provinces.

How hard is Marijuana eradication?

Pictures and news of eradicated Marijuana plantations in Kalinga give people notion that you could just easily find them in the province, “panangkita yu lang siguro ket kasla sumang at ka lang dita ket adun iti nagarden nga makitam, it’s not that easy and it’s not easy to go there.” Limmong said.

Given that mountains in Kalinga is high, plantations of Marijuana are usually hidden. Other factors that make eradication extra challenging are the weather condition, the means to locate plantation sites and the means to reach the area.

First is the weather. Limmong said that sometimes the weather looks good but when they go to the mountain, it is not, thus making the task harder even if they use drone.

“Nu sumang at ka if it’s not a good weather, haan mo makita, haan mo matan awan. Nagrigat latta iti drone ta nu mapan ka met ijay bantay ket foggy naging useless diyay drone mi, so ipadas mi manen, good weather ditoy ngem nu mapan ka ijay bantay ket haan,” he said.

Another factor is the way going to the area. Limmong said that there is no problem in going for as long as the way to the plantation is pinpointed so that if they hike for hours they can immediately arrive at the area and not to still look for possible path.

Sometimes, there is no path to the area at all, and that the cultivator is the only one who knows how to get there.

“Nu mapan ka ijay agbiruk ka iti dalan mo, how to go there so marigatan ka ken it takes time samunto madiscover. Tapos in every area, sabali pagnaan, haan nga maymaysa. So iti mangmangyari it’s only the cultivator who knows how to go there,” he said.

The hide and seek will never end

The Kalinga Police Provincial Director said that for as long as Marijuana is still illegal, they will continue their operations against it and so with other illegal drugs.

“As long as it is still illegal and not yet approved as medicinal, then we will continue to do so [eradication] and enforce the law,” he said.

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