LGU-BAGUIO RAISES REWARD FOR DRUG, CRIMINAL INFORMANTS

October 10, 2022 Metro BLISTT

Following the passage of a city ordinance, the City Government of Baguio shall raise the amount of reward
for anyone who gives essential information leading to the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of any drug pusher or any individual who has committed a heinous crime in the city including those that are in the
list of Ten Most Wanted Criminals in the City of Baguio.

Authored by Councilor Jose Molintas, the newly approved ordinance has amended Section 2 of Ordinance
15-2014 to raise the reward of informants from P2,000.00 to P5,000.00. The reward shall be given upon the certification by the city director of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) that the said informer has given information that led to the apprehension and prosecution of the accused.

“By experience, the informants are not willing to publicly identify themselves and testify in court after giving
information leading to the arrest of any person involved in the commission of heinous crimes for fear of reprisal or retaliation from the accused or from his relatives or subordinates,” Molintas stated. Ordinance 15-2014 stipulates that the informant shall be given an additional amount of P10,000.00 upon conviction of the accused through their (informant’s) testimony.

This provision is not part of the proposed amendment. Pursuant to Section 1 of the same ordinance, P150,000.00 from the annual budget of the city government is appropriated to serve as a fund for rewards
to informants who come forward with information about drug pushers and other “authors of heinous crimes committed in the city.” This provision is also not included in the proposed amendment. In its explanatory note, Ordinance 15-2014 recognized that the problem of drug addiction “has reached epidemic proportions.”

“Unless the city takes positive measures to ensure the participation of the constituency, efforts towards the solution of the pressing problem will prove futile,” it stated. The ordinance has been transmitted to the
City Mayor’s office to be signed by the chief executive.

Jordan G. Habbiling