Iloilo City Liga chief flags shifting drug-clearing program guidelines

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Liga ng mga Barangay-Iloilo City chapter has raised concerns over what it described as constantly changing guidelines in the implementation of the government’s drug-clearing program.

Liga President Maria Irene Ong said shifting policies under the Regional Barangay Drug Clearing Program have made it difficult for barangays to keep up, especially when leadership changes occur at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

“In my view, even if a barangay has already been declared drug-cleared, everything changes when a new head assumes office because the policies also change. They keep changing personnel and guidelines so quickly. It becomes confusing, and we can no longer understand the drug-cleared status,” Ong said in a local radio interview on Feb. 27.

She also pointed to what she described as limited feedback on drug personalities reported by barangays and submitted for verification to the police and PDEA.

“The individuals listed by authorities are not followed up with clear confirmation on whether they are truly involved [in illegal drugs] or not. PDEA does not clearly inform us of the results. Everything is kept silent. Then when someone is arrested, the blame is placed on us. That is difficult,” she added.

Ong emphasized that while some arrested individuals cite poverty as a reason for engaging in illegal drug activities, economic hardship should not be used as justification for unlawful acts.

Data from the city government show that 88 out of 180 barangays have been declared drug-cleared and nine are classified as drug-free.

Earlier, Mayor Raisa Trenas-Chu set a goal of achieving full drug-cleared status for all barangays by the end of 2026.

The Barangay Drug Clearing Program is a key component of the national anti-illegal drug campaign, requiring barangays to undergo a multi-step process — including intelligence gathering, community engagement and law enforcement operations — before being declared drug-cleared or drug-free by the Dangerous Drugs Board.

A drug-cleared barangay is one where identified drug personalities have been accounted for through arrest, rehabilitation or other interventions, while a drug-free barangay has sustained its cleared status for at least 18 consecutive months with no reported drug-related activity.

Iloilo City, with a population of more than 500,000, still has roughly half of its barangays yet to achieve drug-cleared status.