PDEA says 3,677 barangays are cleared of illegal drugs

June 30, 2017

One year after the drug war started, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) bared that 3,677 out of 42,036 barangays in the country are declared cleared from illegal drugs. “These barangays have reached drug-cleared status after issuance of a certification by members of the Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug-Clearing Program,” said PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña in a statement on Friday. The Oversight Committee, which is chaired by PDEA, is composed of provincial representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Health (DOH) and local government units. “Before declaring that a barangay is free from illegal drug activities, the committee must convene and validate the non-availability of drug supply in the area and the absence of drug transit activity, clandestine drug laboratory and chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site, drug den, drug pusher and user, “ Lapeña added. The declaration is pursuant to the parameters set forth by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) as provided in Section 8, DDB Board Regulation No. 3 Series of 2017, otherwise known as “Strengthening the Implementation of the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program”. Lapeña said 20,104 or 47.83 percent of the total barangays in the country are drug-affected. “Out of these barangays, 68.5 percent or 13,782 are classified as slightly affected, 30.4 percent or 6,114 barangays are moderately affected, while the remaining one percent or 208 barangays are seriously affected”, he said. The National Capital Region (NCR) has the highest rate of barangay drug-affectation with 97.3 percent, followed by Region XIII at 86.58 percent and Region VII at 82.75 percent. The region least affected by the drug menace is the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at 3.49 percent. A barangay is said to be drug-affected when there is a reported presence of drug user, pusher, manufacturer, marijuana cultivator or other drug personalities and facilities regardless of number in the area. On June 2, 2017, Batanes has earned the distinction of being the country’s first province proclaimed drug-free. “The Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) composed of 39 member-agencies aims to clear 5,272 barangays before the year ends. If we can sustain the pace, ridding the country’s drug problem in the next four years is very much doable,” the PDEA chief said. DMS