ROXAS City – Barangay officials in five towns in the 1st District of Capiz tested negative for illegal drug use, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 6.
The officials were from the municipalities of Panay, Panitan, Pontevedra, Maayon, and President Roxas.
PDEA conducted the drug tests in coordination with Capiz’s Liga ng mga Barangay in October last year.
Appointed officials – barangay treasurer, secretary and bookkeeper – also underwent the tests.
But some barangay officials were dismayed that PDEA did not conduct drug tests in Pilar town, which also belongs to the 1st District of Capiz.
One of the officials from Pontevedra, who spoke on the condition that he will not be named, told Panay News, that Pilar “has the most number of barangays rumored to have been infested with illegal drugs.”
Capiz’s Liga ng mga Barangay president and ex-officio board member Lilia Demalata said they requested PDEA to conduct the drug tests in Capiz last year through a resolution.
Capiz has 16 municipalities composed of 472 villages and a component city with 47 villages.
“It’s unfortunate that only five municipalities were covered,” Demalata told Panay News. “The drug test results could serve as basis for PDEA to recommend to the COMELEC (Commission on Elections) to disqualify candidates for the barangay elections.”
For his part, PDEA regional director Wardley Getalla said they lacked personnel to administer the drug tests in all village officials in the province.
But Getalla said there are over 20 village officials in Capiz whose names are included in PDEA’s narco list, which is divided into a watch list and a target list.
Those in the watch list are suspected drug protectors while those in the target list are suspected to be directly involved in the illegal drug operation, Getalla explained./PN
