119 Western Visayas barangays still drug-affected — DILG

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Illegal drugs continue to threaten community safety in Western Visayas, with 119 barangays still affected, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 6 said as it pushed for stricter barangay-level enforcement.

The affected barangays are in Capiz, Iloilo province, and Iloilo City, although DILG-6 Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero did not specify which local government units are involved.

Of the 3,389 barangays in the region, 1,963 have been declared drug-cleared while 1,307 are classified as drug-free, DILG-6 data showed.

As of October, Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras have achieved 100% drug-cleared status, Capiz is 93.66% drug-cleared, Iloilo province is at 99.6%, and Iloilo City, a highly urbanized area, stands at 53.89%.

Ingeniero said the Iloilo City police and the local government are harmonizing plans and recalibrating anti-drug strategies to further bring down the number of barangays with active drug activities.

He added that the city has 20 barangays currently being assessed for possible inclusion in the list of drug-cleared areas.

“Iloilo City is committed to increasing the number of drug-cleared barangays,” he said.

Ingeniero stressed that all drug-cleared barangays are subject to revalidation to ensure continued compliance and to meet directives from the national government.

Drug-cleared barangays are those previously identified as drug-affected, meaning they had illegal drug users, pushers, or drug-related activities.

After validation and verification showing that the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) is functional and that identified drug personalities are accounted for, the barangay is declared drug-cleared.

Meanwhile, drug-free barangays are areas with no reported presence or history of illegal drug users, pushers, or drug-related activities.

The DILG-6 chief admitted that weak barangay governance hampers anti-drug efforts at the community level.

He noted that many barangays lack auxiliary members who support enforcement and monitoring.

“If BADAC is fully functional, they must have at least 25 auxiliaries per purok; for small barangays, that should be at least 400 auxiliaries, but not all barangays have that because of the lack of manpower,” Ingeniero said.

“We can see that problems really begin at the barangay level, that’s why we are now focusing on strengthening barangay governance,” he added.

On cases involving barangay officials allegedly engaged in illegal drug activities, Ingeniero said the DILG only has supervisory powers over barangays.

He said the agency can advise barangay officials of their administrative and criminal liabilities but does not have direct disciplinary authority, as sanctions must come from the courts or the Office of the Ombudsman.