ILOILO City – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency declared 60 more barangays in Western Visayas as cleared of illegal drug trade and use, bringing to 3,234 the total drug-cleared barangays in the region.
Shey Tanaleon, PDEA-6spokesperson, said the Regional Oversight Committee on Dangerous Drugs (ROCDD) deliberated on the application of 149 barangays and 60 hurdled the rigid screening of the committee.
This brought to 79.83 percent, or 4,051 barangays, the number of villages that have been declared drug-free, she said.
In this batch, Iloilo province had the most number of drug-cleared barangays with 26. The town of Dumangas had the most drug-cleared with 14.
Negros Occidental also had additional drug-cleared barangays. These were in the component cities of Bago, Kabankalan, Sagay and Talisay, as well as in the towns of Cauayan, Ilog, Isabela, La Castellana, Pontevedra, and Valladolid.
The province of Capiz had 11 additional drug-cleared barangays. These were in the towns of
Dumarao, Jamindan, President Roxas, and Sapian.
Iloilo City, the regional capital of Western Visayas, had three more barangays declared drug-cleared.
The province of Aklan had an additional one barangay that was drug-cleared.
To sustain the gains against illegal drugs, Tanaleon said efforts have been tightened such that the concerned office of primary responsibility has to implement support activities, including sports, religious and social activities; livelihood projects; and re-integration and counseling activities for families of drug personalities./PN
