Illegal Drugs in Talisay Decreasing – JVR

The Talisay City chief executive said he noticed a decrease of illegal drug activities in Talisay areas since the new administration launched its various livelihood projects.

Talisay City Mayor Johnny De Los Reyes (JVR) told that after taking his oath of office as the new chief executive of Talisay, he immediately launched various livelihood programs benefiting the poor.

De Los Reyes who was aware on the proliferation of illegal drugs specifically shabu prior to his election as city mayor, said it was already in his mind that “an idle man could be easily tempted to sell illegal drugs if his stomach is hungry”, he said.

De Los Reyes added that livelihood programs which means giving jobs to all identified poorest of the poor was his initial project.

This is because De Los Reyes knows that illegal drugs are just common to those who lack livelihood.

“If there’s somebody tempting them to work as shabu pusher, they will easily work it to feed their families”, the Talisay mayor said.

De Los Reyes admitted that this is the reason why Talisay has thousands of job order employees now, which apparently shocked his critics.

He said if he runs his own two passenger trucks hauling Talisaynons who are working in Cebu City everyday for free, its because he wants that its drivers and conductors have livelihood.

Even the security guards of the city hall and other departments of the city government were hired as job orders to ensure that being Talisaynons, the city government could really feed them in exchange of their services.

“So this the reason why illegal drugs issues are no longer popular in Talisay nowadays compared during the preceding administration”, De Los Reyes said.

Another beneficial projects for the wealthy and poor residents is the Botica for the Poor, where all medicines are given free to those who are in need, the Talisay mayor said.

He said that this Botica is now functioning which really helping all poor patients.

The Talisay city chief executive is now contemplating to equip the Talisay City District Hospital with a dialysis machine for free to all patients who cannot afford the dilyses expenses.

“This means that anybody who will be subjected for dialysis for various kinds of cancer diseases, he/she can avail the free services of this machine”, De los Reyes added.

Another ambitious plan of the Talisay city mayor is to make the seaside opening of Mananga river as a landing area of ferry boats to haul passengers to the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapulapu and vice versa.

As an inventor De Los Reyes said he will utilize the unemployed individuals to dig the opening canal four meters deep and 50 to 100 meters away from the shoreline.

” They will be paid from the earnings of sands and gravels they are digging in cleaning the channel”, he said.

Then the area will finally be a tourist attraction because of the then mushrooming of food outlets and other recreation facilities to be built there, De Los Reyes claimed.

“But prior to start this ambitious project there will be a proper consultation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other experts who will assess if this project is viable or not”. he said.