MAYBE declaring a whole barangay “drug-cleared” is next to impossible, but in a sitio maybe it’s not.
Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) Director Julian Entoma admitted that despite their constant coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), illegal drug users and sellers remained rampant.
Following a meeting with the MCPO, Pdea and DILG, the Mandaue City Government contemplated on implementing the Barangay Drug Clearing Program in the sitio level since there would be fewer houses.
Entoma said that by slowly eradicating the drug problem in the sitios, the entire barangay would soon be rid of illegal drug elements.
“We’ll concentrate on the sitios where there are fewer houses that can easily be monitored. Once one sitio is cleared of illegal drugs, we move on to the next sitio and so on until we succeed in clearing the whole barangay of illegal drugs,” Entoma told Superbalita Cebu in Cebuano.
Entoma hopes to implement the drug clearing program in the sitios before his tour of duty as MCPO director ends.
He said five barangays had been identified as “moderately affected” by illegal drugs. These are Barangays Looc, Umapad, Labogon, Subangdaku and Cubacub.
Barangay Looc is on top of the list because it is home to the Mandaue City Jail where illegal drugs are allegedly sold.
“First of all, Looc is a big barangay. There are a lot of houses and a lot of residents. Of course, the demand for illegal drugs is present. That means there are customers. It’s also home to the city jail. Those who are detained for drug charges probably retained their contacts outside,” Entoma said in Cebuano.
Entoma said they had been coordinating with officials of the five barangays to help improve their illegal drug situation.
The MCPO initially reported that all 27 barangays in the city were moderately affected by illegal drugs not just because of the number of drug surrenderers but also because of the arrests and deaths of suspects during anti-illegal drug operations.
Last year, the top 5 barangays considered moderately affected were Subangdaku, Tipolo, Looc, Opao and Paknaan because of the number of drug surrenders in these areas. (from FMD of SuperBalita Cebu, JKV)