61% barangays in CV declared drug-cleared

CEBU, Philippines — More than 61 percent of all barangays in Central Visayas have been declared “drug-cleared.”

Based on the recent data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-7, out of 3,003 barangays in the region, 1,855 have been drug-cleared.

These figures were released during the July 2024 deliberation of the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC-7).

According to guidelines of anti-illegal drug operations, drug-cleared means that all those in the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) watchlist are already accounted for and have underwent rehabilitation.

Out of the 1,855 drug-cleared barangays, 736 are from Cebu Province; 682 are from Bohol, 268 from Negros Oriental, and 107 from Siquijor.

In the tri-cities of Cebu, there are 33 barangays in Cebu City, 11 in Lapu-Lapu City, and 18 in Mandaue City that are drug-cleared.

Further, 116 barangays in the region are now classified as "drug-free," or areas that do not have any reported presence of illegal drug users, pushers, or drug-related activities.

However, none of the 116 drug-free barangays are from Cebu City, which has 80 barangays, with 47 or 58.75 percent still considered drug-affected.

A total of 1,032 or 34.37 percent barangays in Central Visayas are still under the “drug-affected” status.

The ROCBDC was established in 2017, bringing together representatives from the PDEA, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine National Police (PNP), and local government units (LGUs) to implement a comprehensive anti-illegal drug initiative aimed at protecting individuals and communities from drug addiction.

Meanwhile, in Cebu City, there are now 33 drug-cleared barangays with the recent addition of barangay San Jose.

 “I’m very proud to tell that duna na ‘tay ika-33 nga drug-cleared barangay. Gahapon, there was a deliberation by the Regional Oversight Committee, ang Barangay San Jose was declared as drug-cleared barangay,” said Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention Executive Director Jonah John Rodriguez through the City’s PIO.

“And once ma-drug-cleared ang usa ka barangay, they have to retain their drug-cleared status. In other words, dili lang na basta ma-drug-cleared, monitored gihapon siya,” Rodriguez added.

He stressed that should there be other drug users and pushers monitored in the barangay, it could lose its status as “drug-cleared.”

“Back to zero. Ato na sad sila i-home visit, ato na sad sila i-launch, ato na sad sila tagaan og intervention program,” Rodriguez said.

Barangay San Jose joins the 32 other barangays in the city that had been declared as drug-cleared previously. The 32 are barangays Kalubihan, Punta Princesa, Adlaon, Agsungot, Kasambagan, Kamagayan, Cambinocot, Basak San Nicolas, Basak Pardo,Tisa, Mabini, Budlaan, Tabunan, Binaliw, Zapatera,  Sto Nino, Sudlon 1 and 2, Sapangdaku, Sinsin, Toong, Parian, San Antonio, Pamutan, Kinasang-an, Lusaran, Buot Taup, Tagbao, Bacayan, Taptap, Guba, Pit-os, Paril, and Malubog. (CEBU NEWS)