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[av_heading heading=’Drugs bug over half of WV brgys – PRO-6 ‘ 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 – Of the 2,389 villages in Western Visayas, 1,944 or 57 percent are drug-affected, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
Chief Superintendent Jose Gentiles, regional police director, wanted to clear all these barangays before the end of 2016.
“This is our latest record. These barangays are subject for clearing operations by the police,” said Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 spokesperson.
Of the 1,944 drug-affected barangays, PRO-6 classified 1,675 as “slightly affected”, 261 as “moderately affected” and eight “seriously affected.”
Gentiles directed provincial and city police directors and police chiefs to coordinate with local government units in drug-clearing operations.
Barangay antidrug abuse councils play a big role in the operations, too, stressed Gentiles.
“Kung hindi natin kaya until December this year, we hope to clear all these barangays within the first six months of next year,” said the police general.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously promised to stop drug trafficking by the end of this year but asked for a six-month extension, citing the enormity of the illegal drugs problem.
“Basta mag tulong-tulong lang tayo, makakaya natin ito,” said Gentiles.
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) recently introduced new parameters in classifying drug affectation.
Before, the presence of a single drug personality was enough to classify a village “drug-affected.”
A barangay is considered drug-affected if it has a user, pusher, manufacturer, (marijuana) cultivator, or other drug personality; a drug den; a marijuana plantation; a clandestine drug laboratory; and facilities related to illegal drug production.
New DDB definitions provide that a seriously drug-affected barangay has at least one clandestine drug laboratory or marijuana plantation and three or more drug dens or shabu tiangges, and more than 20 percent of the population comprise drug personalities (users, pushers or financiers).
On the other hand, a moderately affected barangay has drug personalities making up 2 percent of 20 percent of its total population, while a slightly affected barangay has drug personalities composing less than 2 percent of its total population./PN
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