THE declaration of 25 villages in Cebu as “drug cleared” was not meant to favor incumbent village chiefs and kagawads who are running for re-election in next week’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide said this after the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) and member agencies of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program oversight committee declared the 25 barangays as “drug-clear” yesterday.
In a press conference before the awarding, Davide said that it’s the oversight committee, not CPADAO or the Cebu Provincial Government, who determines if the barangays are cleared of drugs or not.
“Naay tabi-tabi nga kaning mga drug cleared barangays kay gipili ra sa CPADAO ug sa Cebu Provincial Government. Dili na tinuod. Lima ka ahensiya ang nag-validate niini (It’s not a selective process. Five agencies validate the barangays’ status),” Davide said.
But Davide said barangay captains in drug-cleared villages who are running for reelection could benefit from the declaration as it would be considered as their “legacy.”
“The challenge now for these officials, whether incumbent or new, is to sustain their status as drug cleared barangays,” Davide said.
The oversight committee, which is composed of five agencies led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), conducts intensive assessment of barangays, who were able to comply the parameters set during the pre-operation, operation and post-operation phases of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program as mandated by the Dangerous Drugs Board.
Aside from PDEA, members of the oversight committee include representatives of the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of Health, the Philippine National Police and local government units.
For his part, PDEA 7 director and oversight committee chairman Emerson Margate said the declaring the 25 barangays as “drug cleared” cannot be construed as political as the committee had longed decided to declare the barangays since February this year.
But Margate said they delayed the declaration as they were asking the barangays to comply with all the parameters.
The 25 barangays declared as “drug free” are Barangays Licos, Nangka and Cambubho in Danao City; Barangay Mayana in the City of Naga; Barangays Biasong, Cawit, Dapdap, Esperanza, Imelda, Lower Poblacion, Moabog, Montserrat, San Isidro, San Juan, Upper Poblacion and Villahermosa in Pilar, Camotes Island; Barangay Himensulan in San Francisco, Camotes Island; and Barangays Luyang, Victoria, Kinawahan, Poblacon, Anapog, Dapdap and Punta in San Remigio.
Meanwhile, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Chief Supt. Robert Quenery said that the drug-cleared declaration of barangays in Bogo City contributed to 15% of the 20% goal of the law enforcement agencies in the anti-drugs campaign.
Quenery said that an oversight committee will ensure that there won’t be entry of drug users and pushers in the barangay.
“These are good developments already. In fact, it is my advocacy that by the end of 2018, at least ma-clear man lang natin ang Central Visayas sa 20 percent man lang ng atin mag barangays ay ma-clear. The 25 barangays that we are clearing now is a good start,” Quenery said. (JKV, JOB)