PDEA declares 161 CL villages drug free

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Central Luzon on Thursday declared some 161 villages in the region as "drug-free."

PDEA Regional Public Information Officer Glenn Guillermo said “drug-free means the barangay is unaffected and has no drug users and drug pushers on record.

He clarified that the declaration of "drug-free" is done by PDEA and an inter-agency group or the Regional Oversight Committee.

Guillermo said the committee processes, validates and certifies a particular area's status on illicit drugs.

He added that villages in Central Luzon which were declared drug-free are mostly ethnic communities.

Among the drug-free barangays, 46 are in Pampanga; 40 in Nueva Ecija; 29 in Tarlac; 16 in Zambales; 14 in Aurora; nine in Bataan; and seven in Bulacan.

Guillermo said a total of 2,491 villages in the region have so far been cleared of illegal drugs while 450 are still affected.

He added that PDEA and the Philippine National Police conduct operations to eradicate illegal drugs in the region.

The law enforcement agencies also monitor villages to ensure the sustainability of the government's anti-drug campaign, Guillermo said.