DAVAO ORIENTAL—In its continuous bid to get rid of the drug menace in Davao Region, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has urged the Action Officers of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (PADAC) to further strengthen its effort in drug clearing operations.
“I’d just like to encourage everybody to stay focused and we should not stray on the task to clean the community of illegal drugs,” said PDEA Assistant Regional Director Atty. Behn Tesiorna during the Regional Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs Coordinating Group XI (ICAD XI) regular meeting hosted by Davao Oriental on Friday, November 22, 2019.
He added that while the ICAD “serves as a policy-making body” that “serves as guide on how we should go about with the war on drugs by the President,” anti-drug efforts in the region should be unified, integrated, and synchronized to holistically address the drug problem in the country.
Of the 534 drug affected barangays in the region, 314 have already been declared cleared from drugs.
In the province of Davao Oriental, drug clearing operations is on-going to clear the remaining barangays from drugs. Currently, out of 79 drug-affected barangays, 75 have already been cleared.
Provincial Administrator Art Benjie Bulaong, who is the Davao Oriental’s PADAC Action Officer, said that the province will be declaring two barangays cleared from drugs in December while the other two will be declared cleared from drugs early next year. The said barangays are from the province’s component city, the City of Mati.
In addition, the province continues to transform the lives of the drug reformists through the Community-Based Rehabilitation and Aftercare Program (CBRAP). Implemented under its flagship program called the Lihok Nagkahiusang Lumulupyo kontra Droga (Lihok NLD), 2,865 drug reformists have already graduated from the program.
On the other hand, the province boasts its implementation of the Balay Silangan Bagong Bahay para sa Bagong Buhay (B4) Drug Reformation Center, a drug reformatory facility mandated under the Dangerous Drugs Board. Currently, 39 clients are being enrolled in the program.
All these efforts have earned the province a “high” rating or a final score of 100 in the 2018 ADAC Performance Audit conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Meanwhile, PADAC Action Officers in other provinces have also presented an update on their drug clearing operations, particularly in the implementation of community-based rehabilitation.
Also, issues in anti-drug efforts have been tackled during the meeting. By Riza M. Golez
