DILG to barangays: Prove support to anti-illegal drugs drive by activating BADACs

March 18, 2018

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) OIC-Secretary Eduardo M. Año challenged all barangay captains to prove their commitment to rid their communities of illegal drugs by forming and activating their Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) otherwise they could face administrative charges.

The DILG chief said that as the first line of defense, barangay captains should lead the fight against illegal drugs and the activation of the BADACs will ensure that there is a convergence of efforts among barangay leaders to carry out the anti-illegal drugs campaign in the community level.

He said that if barangay leaders refuse to organize their BADACS or fail to activate their BADACS, they could face administrative charges from the DILG.

“We are studying the cases to be filed against all the barangay captains, so you better act now before everything is too late,” he said.

Año said he has designated Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño to monitor compliance with his directives and to recommend the immediate filing of charges against non-performing barangay officials.

He said it is the role of BADACs to plan, strategize, implement and evaluate programs and projects on drug abuse prevention in the barangay as well as to organize and orient BADAC Auxiliary Teams on their roles and functions and in formulating plan of action to address the problem.

He said BADACS are also expected to coordinate and collaborate with other institutions like the Philippine National Police and the municipal or city government in implementing programs and projects on drug abuse prevention at the barangay level.

“It's also the job of BADAC to collect information regarding all drug-related incidents in their areas and to list down all the suspected drug users in their villages and submit them to the PNP or PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) for validation,” he said.

According to Año, BADACs should also refer suspected drug users to the city/municipal ADAC and other institutions for counselling and/or rehabilitation.

Moreover, they should also conduct an information and education campaign on illegal drug demand reduction and monitor the disposition of drug-related cases filed, he added.

The BADAC is composed of the Punong Barangay as chairperson, and the sangguniang barangay member who is the chair of the peace and order committee as vice chairperson. Members include: the sangguniang barangay member who is the chair of the committee on women and family; Sangguniang Kabataan chair; public school principal or his or her representative; executive officer or chief tanod; and one representative each from a faith-based organization or a non-government organization. Serving as BADAC adviser would be the city or municipal chief of police or his representative.

Based on reports from the DILG’s National Barangay Operations Office (NBOO), 94 percent or 39,417 of the 42,036 barangays nationwide have already organized their BADACs. Of the 39,417 compliant barangays, 86 percent have organized their auxiliary teams. However, only 61 percent have formulated their BADAC Plan of Action.

The Department reminded all punong barangays to ensure that the BADACs are functional and are implementing anti-illegal drug activities based on their BADAC Plan of Action. DMS