443 Capiz barangays declared drug-cleared

By Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — About 443 of the 473 barangays in Capiz have been declared drug-cleared.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Capiz Provincial Officer Jury Rocamora said the figure was based on data from an earlier interagency monitoring effort.

He said 30 barangays have yet to be declared drug-cleared, including 27 in Roxas City and two in Panitan, while the status of one other barangay is still being monitored by the police and PDEA-Capiz.

Rocamora stressed that village officials must take the initiative to sustain their respective barangays’ drug-cleared status.

He said each barangay has a Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) tasked with monitoring illegal drug activities in the community.

“It’s a big challenge on the part of the village officials to maintain their barangay a drug cleared or else it will be revoked”, he added.

He said village officials should strengthen their campaigns against illegal drug activities as part of their duties and responsibilities.

He added that if a person involved in illegal drug use is identified but is not included on the BADAC list, barangay officials could face administrative cases.

“The PDEA-Capiz is still here to help the village officials once they have monitored a drug surrenderee or personality engaged in illegal drugs”, he said.