The province of Negros Occidental and the highly-urbanized city of Bacolod are areas of focus of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency City in its campaign to declare more barangays as drug-cleared.
Nicholas Gomez, head of PDEA Provincial Office, said that in their latest evaluation, Negros Occidental has 205 drug cleared barangays, or 24.10 percent of the province’s 601 total barangays.
Gomez added that of the 205 barangays, four are under re-evaluation because they have not fully complied with the parameters in the implementation of the barangay drug-clearing program.
Bacolod City, meanwhile, has 10 cleared barangays out of 61, or 61.39 percent.
Gomez added the province and the city are still considered areas of focus of the anti-drug campaign because the operations of the different operating units continue to yield positive results, like the seizure of P13.6 million worth of illegal drugs and the arrest of three persons in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Singcang-Airport, Bacolod City, on Nov. 23.
“The successful operation of the PNP shows seriousness to curve the illegal drugs problem. What is important is that authorities were able to monitor it before its distribution to the market,” he added.
Gomez said they are intensifying efforts to clear barangays from drug affectation.
The next deliberations under the barangay drug-clearing program will be next month.
He also said that all barangays in Western Visayas have reactivated their Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs)), in compliance with the recent memorandum of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Last month, PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva also issued a stern warning against barangay officials who failed to reactivate their BADACs. -Mitch Lipa
