THE city government of Bacolod is targeting 17 barangays to be cleared of illegal drugs this year, retired colonel Primitivo Tabujara, city’s coordinator on the anti-drug abuse campaign, said Tuesday, April 4.
This month, they are recommending Barangays 21 and 22 be declared drug-cleared villages, he said.
He said they will also include Barangay 19 if it can comply with all the requirements set by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
"It depends on the performance of our drug rehabilitation program handled by the City Health Office (CHO) so we can recommend more barangays to be declared drug-cleared," he added.
Tabujara said that the qualified barangays will be assessed by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Clearing, chaired by the PDEA.
"We are targeting 17 barangays this year to achieve our 100 percent performance," Tabujara said.
Since the start of the anti-drug campaign, of the 61 barangays in Bacolod, 14 barangays have been declared drug-cleared, he said.
"We should comply with all requirements set by the PDEA, and we need the cooperation of the barangay officials here to address the illegal drug problem within their areas of jurisdiction," he added.*