THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) filed on Monday, April 30, administrative charges against 16 barangay (village) captains in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Bicol Region for failing to organize their Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (Badac).
DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año said the 16 officials were slapped with charges of misconduct or dereliction of duty pursuant to Section 60 of the Local Government Code of 1991.
They are from the following areas: City of Manila - Barangays 471, 477, 482, 659-A and 690; Aroroy, Masbate - Barangays Bagauma, Balawing, Gumahang, Lanang, Macabug, Manamoc, Mariposa, Nabongsoran, San Isidro and Talabaan; and Gubat, Sorsogon - Barangay Cota na Dado (Poblacion).
Año said the officials in the said villages failed to organized their anti-drug councils despite several directives from the DILG and Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016.
“The Department’s filing of charges against barangays with no Badac is to send a strong message to the barangays on their important role in the anti-illegal drug campaign, more so that the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections are just two weeks away,” he said.
“Voters should be wise enough not to vote for incumbents who failed to act on the anti-illegal drugs issues in their respective communities," he added.
However, Año said these officials will be given the chance to defend themselves and undergo due process considering that none of them are included in the drug watchlist released by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Monday.
“Public office is a public trust. They are not private citizens. They are accountable for their duties and the public have the right to know if these tasks are delivered by them," said Año.
Anti-drug councils serve as the government’s first line of defense against illegal drugs in the communities, considering that the local officials are expected to know what is happening in their area.
The council is tasked to identify the drug personalities in their area and submit its list to the DILG for further verification.
Año said the 16 officials comprise only the first batch. More are expected to be charged.
He said the DILG is also monitoring the functionality of organized anti-drug councils as they must also have submitted action plans to the concerned DILG offices and must have implemented the programs, projects, or activities listed in their action plan.
“This is only the first batch because we are still in the process of culling all the reports from our regional and field offices and there are still over 600 barangays with no reports on their Badacs," he said.
“When we say functional, it means that the concerned local government units (LGUs) have allocated substantial budget for the anti-drug campaign like community-based rehabilitation program," he added.
Año said functional BADACs are those that have significantly decreased the number of drug affectations in their barangays as validated by the PDEA. (SunStar Philippines)