BY JEN BAYLON
ILOILO City – Western Visayas had made progress in its fight against illegal drugs, hitting 91 percent of drug-cleared barangays by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The region has a total of 4,051 barangays.
As of October, both the 327 barangays of Aklan and the 98 barangays of Guimaras have remained free from illegal drugs.
Bacolod City is still the lowest performer at 24.59 percent, although it recorded an increase in drug-cleared barangays from 22.95 percent in June this year.
The province of Iloilo had 98.61 percent of drug-cleared barangays compared to 98.55 percent in June, followed by Capiz with 91.6 percent from 91.12 percent.
Negros Occidental’s drug-cleared barangays significantly increased to 73.38 percent from 67.89 percent.
Antique, at 99.66 percent, and Iloilo City, at 52.22 percent of drug-cleared barangays, sustained their June 2023 status.
Atty. Bomrad Soc Abonado, PDEA-6 spokesperson, emphasized during an interview the ongoing efforts to address the remaining drug hotspots in Bacolod and Iloilo cities and further increase the percentage of drug-cleared barangays in the region.
Abonado also clarified that the status of a drug-cleared barangay may not be affected if there are drug offenders apprehended within their vicinity, provided that it is determined that the incident was an isolated case and did not involve the community as a whole./PN
