A TOTAL of 76 barangays and one municipality in the Central Visayas have been declared drug-cleared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Central Visayas (PDEA 7) following a deliberation by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC) from April 11 to 12, 2024.
Of the drug-cleared barangays, 36 are located in Cebu province, 30 in Negros Oriental, four in Bohol, five in Mandaue City (Banilad, Cubacub, Guizo, Ibabao, Estancia, and Labogon), and one in Cebu City, which is Tagbao.
The municipality of Tudela on Camotes Island also became the ninth to become drug-cleared in the entire Central Visayas.
Since the government started the Barangay Drug Clearing Program, 1,744 barangays have already been declared drug-cleared out of the 3,003 barangays in the Central Visayas.
Nine municipalities were also declared drug-cleared and 116 barangays as drug-free.
These municipalities include Poro, San Francisco, Pilar, and Tudela on Camotes Island, Santander, Madridejos, and San Remegio in mainland Cebu, Enrique in Siquijor, and Basay in Negros Oriental.
According to Leia Alcantara, information officer of PDEA 7, there are still more barangays lining up to be declared drug-cleared in the future.
"This is a manifestation that our local government units, our stakeholders, the communities are aware of their functions, their participation in the anti-illegal drug campaign, gone are the days nga moingon ra gyud ang nga tawo nga trabaho mana sa pulis, trabaho man na sa PDEA. Karon kasabot na ang atung stakeholders na this is a shared responsibility (when people would say that that is the work of the police, PDEA. Now, the stakeholders are already aware that this is a shared responsibility)," Alcantara said. (AYB, TPT)