BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Two-hundred five villages or 34.10 percent of Negros Occidental’s 601 barangays have so far been cleared of illegal drugs, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Western Visayas.
There are 396 more barangays waiting to be cleared. In the capital city of Bacolod, 10 of its 61 barangays were also declared drug-free.
According to Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) member Juvy Pepello, 31 more barangays are now undergoing review by the regional oversight committee on the campaign against drug trafficking.
Pepello, an SP ex-officio member being the federation president of the Liga ng mga Barangay in the province, said PDEA Region 6 will assess if these barangays have met the parameters.
These are some of the parameters:
* non-availability of illegal drugs
* absence of drug dens , pushers and users, protectors or financiers
* absence of clandestine drug laboratories, warehouses, marijuana cultivation sites
* no drug transit or transshipment activity
* active involvement of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials in anti-drug activities
* conduct of drug awareness, preventive education and information campaign
* operation of voluntary and compulsory drug treatment and rehabilitation processing desk
Pepello also said they are fully supporting PDEA’s efforts to rid barangays of illegal drugs.
She acknowledged that some Negrenses are hesitant to cooperate with authorities in reporting persons engaged in illegal activities in their areas, as it may endanger their own lives.
In Western Visayas, PDEA reported that 3,222 or 79.53 percent of the 4,051 barangays were already declared “drug-cleared.”/PN
