By Jennifer P. Rendon
The massive demand and supply reduction efforts of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Region 6 won the agency’s best giga region award for 2022.
PDEA-6 bested Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), Region 12 (Soccsksargen), the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
PDEA-6 got the highest premium points in both its demand and supply reductions in the Category 3 regions.
The categorization of regions is based on the level of drug affectation.
For the year 2022, Western Visayas started out with around 80 percent of drug-cleared barangays.
The demand and supply reduction activities initiated by PDEA regional offices are anchored on the implementation of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP).
Before 2022 ended, Western Visayas cleared around 89 percent of its barangays.
In scoring points, the PDEA Plans and Operations Service considered the number of lectures conducted and activities to promote a drug-free workplace.
Visitations to drug surrenderers and drug-cleared barangays are also plus points.
The committee is also looking at the number of trainings of trainers that have been conducted.
Advocacies undertaken relative to drug prevention education and community involvement are also being rated. But these efforts should be documented.
Further, these activities of regional offices should also be replicated by its provincial and city field units.
