Dingle gets drug-cleared tag

By: Jennifer P. Rendon 

Dingle has joined the rank of municipalities in Iloilo province that were declared drug-cleared.

All 33 barangays of Dingle were declared drug-cleared in a ceremony Dec. 16, 2019.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 6 (PDEA-6) regional director Alex Tablate personally attended the declaration, which he said was another proof of the success of their anti-drug campaign.

Niel Daraug, Dingle Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council (MADAC) focal person, witnessed the event in behalf of Mayor Rufino Palabrica III.

Prior to the declaration, the Regional Oversight Committee (ROC) members led the inauguration of Dingle’s own Balay Silangan Facility situated at the Moroboro Spring Resort and Suspension Bridge.

Meanwhile, Tablate said Bingawan town, also in Iloilo province, will also be declared drug-cleared on December 20.

Tablate encouraged other municipalities and cities in Iloilo and in the whole of Western Visayas to put up and launch their Balay Silangan facilities to uphold their drug-cleared status which is a part of the post-operation phase of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program.

Earlier this month, Tablate said that four more municipalities in Iloilo province will be declared as drug-cleared.

Aside from Dingle and Bingawan, also to be declared are Concepcion and Pavia.

The ROC has earlier declared three towns and one component city, all in Iloilo province,

Miag-ao became the first municipality in Western Visayas to be officially declared drug-cleared last Nov. 20, 2019.

After Miag-ao, PDEA-6 also declared Igbaras, Passi City, and Guimbal.

Tablate said no town from other provinces were declared, since most of them have yet to comply with the establishment of Balay Silangan or has entered into a memorandum of agreement with towns which have their own center.

Balay Silangan is a facility under the national drug reformation program which offers temporary refuge with the objective of reforming drug offenders into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.

The groundwork for Balay Silangan is stipulated under Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Regulation Number 2, Series of 2018.

The local government unit (LGU) has to build their own Balay Silangan facility but Tablate clarified that there’s no need for the building of a new structure.

Tablate said it could be an existing facility that could be turned into a center.

Aside from Balay Silangan, a town could be declared as drug-cleared if all its barangays have been cleared of drugs pushers and dependents.

The committee is composed of PDEA, the Department of the Interior and Local (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Health (DOH).

Meanwhile, general interventions, like continuing education and health awareness, and psychological/spiritual/physical activities such as counseling, moral recovery, values formation, personal and life skills, among others, are provided under the program. Livelihood and skills training programs which include soap making, massage training, basic carpentry, welding, haircutting, etc., are likewise provided to give drug reformers employment opportunities.

For towns which have not yet built its own Balay Silangan, they need to have a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the nearest towns that has its own Balay Silangan to cater to their drug surrenderers.

“But in the long run, we will be requiring them to establish their own Balay Silangan because that is under the DDB regulation,” Tablate said.

Tablate said there are municipalities that have all their barangays declared drug-cleared but have not yet built a Balay Silangan or enter into a MOA with an LGU which has its own.

Aside from all of its barangays declared drug cleared, a town or component city has to complete its post operation requirements, has a continuous anti-drugs advocacy campaign, and still do reporting of drug personalities that have been addressed by PNP and PDEA.

Also, declaration of a barangay as drug cleared is not an assurance that no anti-illegal drugs operations will be made.

“We still need to conduct anti-drugs operations to maintain status of an area,” Tablate said.

Earlier, the ROC of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP) has declared 217 barangays as free from drug affectation during the 17th ROC deliberation on Oct. 29, 2019.

The latest number has brought the total drug-cleared, or those dubbed as “unaffected,” villages in Region 6 to 69.34 percent.

Once a barangay is considered certified drug-cleared, a certificate signed by the chief of police, mayor, and PDEA regional director is issued.

Tablate noted that the certification of more than half of the 4,051 Western Visayas barangays only showed the efficiency of the drug-clearing operations.

But Tablate said the most critical part is actually not by the “declaration” itself.

“Rather, it’s but how these barangays should execute and do its part in maintaining said status, thus preventing the same from reverting back to being “affected,” he said.

For a barangay to be finally declared as “drug-cleared” or officially “unaffected,” they must comply with all the requirements and parameters set forth under DDB Regulation No. 3, Series of 2017 on Strengthening the Implementation of BDCP.

These requirements include:

1. Non-availability of drug supply
2. Absence of drug den, pusher, user
3. Absence of clandestine drug laboratory
4. Active involvement of barangay officials in anti-drug activities
5. Existence of drug awareness, preventive education and information
6. Existence of voluntary and compulsory drug treatment and rehabilitation processing desk

These requirements are mandated by Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 3 series of 2017.