ILOILO City – With 27 more barangays here declared as “drug-cleared”, the total number of Iloilo City villages with such status rose to 61.
The regional oversight committee on the government’s antidrug campaign identified the 27 barangays yesterday per district:
* City Proper – Danao, Flores, Gloria, Hipodromo, Kahirupan, Kauswagan, Legaspi De La Rama, Magsaysay, Maria Clara, Ortiz, Osmeña, President Roxas, Rizal Ibarra, Veterans Village
* Lapuz – Libertad
* Arevalo – Mohon, Sta. Filomena
* Jaro – Democracia, El 98, Castilla, Lopez Jaena, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, San Jose, San Roque, Seminario
* Mandurriao – Santa Rosa, Taft North
But there are more barangays to be cleared. The city has a total of 180 villages.
“I am very happy that 27 more barangays were drug-cleared by the oversight committee. I thank everyone for their support to this most important program,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The goal, he said, is make all the 180 barangays free from illegal drugs by next year.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chairs the regional oversight committee. The members are the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, Philippine National Police, and local government units.
The Dangerous Drugs Board set the guidelines declaring a village as drug-cleared. These were the following:
* no illegal drugs supply
* no transit or transhipment activity
* no drug laboratory or clandestine chemical warehouse
* no marijuana cultivation site
* no drug den
* no drug pusher, user or dependent
* no drug protector, coddler or financier
Also, barangay officials must be active in antidrug activities. Sangguniang Kabataan must be involved in the drive to maintain a drug-free community. There must be consistent awareness, preventive education and information programs on illegal drugs, and there must be voluntary and compulsory barangay drug treatment rehabilitation processing desk.
The 34 barangays previously declared as drug-cleared were:
* Arsenal Aduana, Inday, Nonoy, Rima-Rizal, Sto. Rosario Duran, Tanza Timawa Zone 1, Tanza Timawa Zone 2, Yulo Arroyo, Ed Ganzon, Roxas Village, Sampaguita, and San Jose in the City Proper
* Javellana, Luna and Sta. Isabel in Jaro
* Calajunan, Dungon C, Guzman-Jesena, Pali-Benedicto, PHHC Block 17, PHHC Block 22, and San Rafael in Mandurriao
* Avanceña, Poblacion, San Antonio, South Fundidor, and Taal in Molo
* Banuyao, Aguinaldo and Lopez Jaena Sur in La Paz
* Loboc and Punong in Lapuz
* Quezon and San Jose in Arevalo./PN
