TWENTY-five of the 245 drug-cleared barangays in Cebu Province risk losing this status for failing to sustain their parameters.
In an interview Tuesday, Feb. 26, Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (Cpadao) Chief Ivy Remedios Durano-Meca confirmed that at least 25 barangays might have their drug-cleared status revoked.
"We monitor every three months and then we submit our report to the regional oversight committee (ROC). We submitted a report last January. After that, the ROC will conduct a pre-deliberation. The report will be on the agency in the next ROC meeting,” she said in Cebuano.
The parameters include neutralizing the presence of drug personalities in the barangay, the enrollment of drug surrenderers in the comprehensive community-based drug rehabilitation program and the implementation of a community aftercare program for surrenderers who have completed the rehab program, among others.
"Also, if the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (Badacs) were not able to sustain their anti-drug programs, meaning to say the level of their functionality was low,” Meca said in Cebuano.
The Cpadao chief urged all the other barangays to "consider and take seriously" their anti-drug programs.
As for Talisay City's drug situation, Meca stressed that while the Badacs in the city had a lot to work on, the city should not be singled out.
President Rodrigo Duterte again pointed out the rampant drug problem in Talisay in his speech at the Cebu Technological University main campus last Feb. 24.
"The President's pronouncement that the drug situation in Talisay had not improved in regards to the functionality of their Badacs, we can testify that the city's Badacs have a lot of work to do,” Meca said in Cebuano.
Talisay was not alone, she said, as other local government units (LGUs) had the same problem.
"When we say improvement of the drug situation, it should be both addressing the demand and the supply. Of course, we see the enforcement in Talisay, but what I'm talking about is the functionality also of the Badac. A lot needs to be done in the barangays in Talisay, but not only Talisay. As you can see, there are still 439 Badacs that are low in functionality, the Badacs in Talisay among them. So it's unfair to single out Talisay, as there are other LGUs that still need support to level off," Meca said in Cebuano. (RTF)