Four more Cordova barangays cleared of drugs

CEBU, Philippines — The Municipality of Cordova now has six drug-cleared barangays after four more were recently declared by the Regional Oversight Committee as barangays that are free from illegal drugs.

Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan announced that the barangays of Dapitan, Day-as, Pilipog, and Poblacion are the newly-added drug-cleared barangays in their town. Cordova has 13 barangays.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officials handed over the Certificate of Drug-Cleared Barangay to the LGU during the flag-raising ceremony yesterday.

The other two that were first declared as drug-cleared are Barangays Ibabao and San Miguel.

In the town of Tuburan, two of its barangays were also declared drug-cleared. The Barangays of Sandayong and Sumon were commended by the provincial board after the said achievement.

A barangay can achieve a drug-cleared status once it complies with the parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board after it was classified as a “drug-affected barangay”.

To achieve this status the barangay should have a non-availability of drug supply, absence of drug transit/shipment activity, absence of a drug laboratory, absence of clandestine chemical warehouse, absence of marijuana cultivation site, and absence of a drug resort.

There must also be no pusher, user, dependent, protector, coddler, or financier in that said barangay.

The barangay officials, including the Sangguniang Kabataan, must be active in anti-drug activities to maintain the drug-liberated status. There should be drug awareness, preventive education and information, and other related programs.

Another parameter that should be complied with is that there should be a voluntary and compulsory drug treatment and rehabilitation processing desk.

The said regional oversight committee which is led by PDEA will be the one to assess if the subject barangay has passed the parameters.