ILOILO — The Iloilo provincial government will step in to help clear the last remaining barangay in the province yet to be declared drug-cleared, even as authorities move to reassess the long-standing policy used to certify barangays as free from illegal drugs.
Barangay Bulaqueña in Estancia town is the only village left uncleared out of the province’s 1,721 barangays, based on data from the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC).
Of the total, 944 barangays have been declared drug-cleared while 776 are drug-free, translating to a 99.94 percent clearance rate, with Bulaqueña as the lone exception.
Provincial Administrator Raul Banias said the provincial government has already coordinated with Estancia’s Mayor Angelica Bianca Requinto to accelerate efforts to have the barangay declared drug-cleared.
“Buligan naton sia. We are planning to go there next week. Dapat activate ang MADAC dira,” Banias said, referring to the Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council.
Banias said police investigations showed that suspected illegal drug activity in Barangay Bulaqueña is concentrated in National Housing Authority (NHA) housing projects, where the sheer number of housing units poses monitoring challenges.
“Ang ila nest is the housing projects of the NHA, linibo da ka balay. So, damo nagasulod sa mga balay nga indi man occupants, dira sila naga-drug den,” Banias added.
Drug-cleared policy under scrutiny
At the same time, the PPOC and the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council (PADAC) have endorsed a review of the policy and parameters used to declare barangays drug-cleared, following complaints from Sara town’s Mayor Jon Aying that buy-bust operations continue in his town despite all its barangays already being declared drug-cleared.
Under the resolution approved during a recent council meeting, the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the Philippine National Police (PNP), together with the provincial government, were tasked to reassess whether the existing criteria remain relevant and applicable.
Banias noted that the current policy was crafted during the Duterte administration and may no longer reflect present-day conditions.
“Nagareklamo si Mayor Aying kay 30 percent sang buy-bust sang Iloilo ara sa Sara. Ang Sara its drug-cleared already so gina-review naton ang policy. Dapat i-recalibrate na ina eh. That was formulated during the Duterte’s tokhang regime, ti lain na subong,” Banias said.
PDEA guidelines state that before a barangay is declared drug-free, a validation committee must confirm the absence of illegal drug supply, drug transit activities, clandestine drug laboratories and chemical warehouses, marijuana cultivation sites, drug dens, drug pushers, and drug users in the area./PN
