ILOILO – All of Miag-ao municipality’s 119 barangays have been declared “drug cleared” by the Regional Oversight Committee led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 6 and Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
PDEA issued a certification for such to Mayor Macario Napulan on Feb. 13.
The barangays substantially complied with the requirements and met the parameters set for such declaration in Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 3, Series of 2017.
The Regional Oversight Committee’s other member-agencies were the regional offices of the Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of Health.
These were the parameters:
* non-availability of illegal drugs
* absence of illegal drug transshipment activities
* absence of clandestine illegal drug laboratories
* absence of clandestine illegal drug warehouses
* absence of clandestine illegal chemical warehouses
* absence of marijuana cultivation sites
* absence of drug dens
* absence of drug pushers
* absence of drug users/dependents
* absence of protectors/coddlers and financiers.
Actually, according to Napulan, only 22 villages had illegal drug problems and the rest of Miag-ao’s barangays were unaffected.
From these 22 barangays that were mostly traversed by the national highway, 102 persons surrendered to the police for rehabilitation, said Napulan.
The surrenderers eventually became beneficiaries of the municipal government’s livelihood program designed to veer them away from using or peddling illegal drugs.
“Gin-community rehab sila asta nga nag-undergo sang seminar-workshop through the Department of Health and Municipal Social Welfare Development Office,” said Napulan.
Now that Miag-ao has been totally cleared of illegal drugs, the mayor said a tougher challenge has emerged – maintaining the barangays’ drug-free status.
The role of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils is crucial, stressed Napulan./PN
