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[av_heading heading=’No illegal drugs in Bingawan? ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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ILOILO City – All of Bingawan, Iloilo’s 14 barangays never had illegal drug problems so the municipality was declared drug-free, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 6 (PDEA-6).
The formal declaration was held yesterday in Bingawan, a fifth-class municipality some 70 kilometers northwest of Iloilo City.
A series of validations were conducted and the town was indeed free from illegal drugs since 2014, said PDEA-6 director Gil Pabilona.
According to the 2015 census, Bingawan had a population of 15,199, making it the least populous town in the province.
PDEA gave plaques of recognition to the 14 barangays. These were received by the village chiefs and officials.
The 14 barangays were Agba-o, Alabidhan, Bulabog, Cairohan, Guinhulacan, Inamyungan, Malitbog Ilawod, Malitbog Ilaya, Ngingi-an, Poblacion, Quinangyana, Quinar-Upan, Tapacon, and Tubod.
A town may be declared drug-free or drug cleared if it has, among others, no presence of drug users, pushers or protectors, no illegal drug laboratories, and all its municipal government employees and officials pass drug tests.
“This is a big challenge to us. Let us maintain our drug-free status,” Mayor Mark Palabrica told his constituents. “I appeal to everybody: help us monitor our town.”
Palabrica said he would be issuing an executive order to all barangay councils to submit a monthly drug-monitoring report to the municipal government./PN
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