• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Ten of the 31 local government units in Negros Occidental, excluding the highly urbanized Bacolod City, have been declared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as “drug cleared,” as December last year.
PDEA identified the drug cleared LGUs, composed of a total of 175 barangays, as E.B. Magalona, Candoni, La Castellana, Manapla, Moises Padilla, Pulupandan, and Valladolid, as well as cities of Bago, Sipalay, and Victorias, all in Negros Occidental.
The PDEA report further indicated that 471 of the 601 barangays in 31 Negros Occidental LGUs have also been declared drug cleared.
Twelve more barangays, including Tiling in Cauayan, Jonob Jonob, and Langud in Escalante City, Gargato in Hinigaran, Lopez Jaena in Murcia, Guinhalaran and Mambulac in Silay City, and Brgy. Zone 12 in Talisay City, were added to the list of drug cleared barangays, PDEA provincial officer Cornelio Espartero disclosed yesterday.
These barangays reached drug-cleared status after the issuance of a certification by members of the Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug-Clearing Program, according to PDEA.
The Oversight Committee, which is chaired by PDEA, is composed of provincial representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Health (DOH), and local government units.
Before declaring a barangay free from illegal drug activities, the committee must convene and validate the non-availability of drug supply in the area and the absence of drug transit activity, clandestine drug laboratory and chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site, drug den, drug pusher and user.
Drug cleared barangays are still subject to monitoring by the oversight committee to ensure they maintain their status.
PDEA reports also stated that there are still 130 barangays to be cleared of illegal drug activities, including 20 villages in Calatrava, 15 in Kabankalan City, 13 in Escalante City, 11 in Murcia, nine in San Carlos City, eight each in the cities of Cadiz and Sagay, six in Binalbagan, five each in Hinigaran and Cauayan, four in San Enrique, three in Isabela, two each in Himamaylan City, Hinobaan, Pontevedra, Silay City, Toboso, and one each in Ilog and Don Salvador Benedicto.*
