THE Davao City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac) operations head disclosed in a press conference Wednesday morning, July 19, that out of the 182 barangays in Davao City, 83 failed to comply with the drug clearing program.
These 83 barangays have been non-compliant with the city government's drug-clearing program since the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Cadac functionality audit results indicate a decline in the city's performance, dropping from 95 to 85 percent, as most barangays did not receive a clear status for 2022.
However, it is worth noting that certain districts of the city, namely Calinan, Tugbok, Paquibato, Marilog, Baguio, and Toril, have been declared drug-free.
On the other hand, several barangays including Talomo, Agdao, Buhangin, Lasang, and some areas of Toril were not declared cleared by Cadac as these areas are situated along the coastline of the city, making it challenging to establish effective control over their entry and exit points.
In 2020, P13 million was allocated for the program, but only P6 million was utilized. Due to this underutilization of funds, the City Mayor's Office is hesitant to provide further assistance as they expected the full allocation to be utilized.
Ronald Rivera, the head of Cadac operations, said that some of the barangays' noncompliance is attributed to their lack of proficiency in governance. The inconsistency among the persons in authority has made it difficult for Cadac to take appropriate action against these noncompliant barangays.
“Lain pod ug kasuhan natu sila although according to the law If you do not appropriate a substantial portion ma disapprove imong annual project (While we cannot charge them, if they fail to conduct this program, the government will not approve their annual project),” Rivera said.
However, many barangays argue that they cannot confidently declare their areas as drug-free due to the continuous influx of people, which poses a risk of jeopardizing their clearance status. They fear that any new arrivals or visitors might bring illegal substances into their area of responsibility, leading to the loss of their drug-free status.
“The parameters of prevention and monitoring are there wala gi-ingon na dili naka ma apektuhan ug [but I am not saying that you would not be affected by] drug addict or pushers kundi [so] you put in place the mechanism to mitigate,” Rivera said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Davao Region (PDEA-Davao) urges all barangay officials to establish clear parameters within their respective areas. These measures will serve as protective factors, enabling them to closely monitor individuals on the watchlist and offer the necessary interventions and treatment when needed.
“I think it's really a long term for Davao City kita lang jud ang pinakahinay na [for we are the slowest to conduct] drug clearing I think (noh) in the region,” Rivera said. (RGP)