Ermita, four villages meet extended deadline for drug list

ALL 80 barangays in Cebu City have submitted the lists of drug personalities in their respective areas to the regional Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-7) yesterday, one day after its March 15 deadline.

About five of these barangays — Kasambagan, Sto. Niño, Tabunan, Babag and Ermita — beat the extended deadline imposed by PDEA-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz yesterday.

“All have submitted the lists,” PDEA-7 spokesperson Leia Albiar said.

The list from Barangay Ermita was the last to arrive at PDEA-7 at 2:50 p.m. It was delivered by its barangay secretary.

At noon yesterday, Ruiz said he decided to give a one-day extension to allow other villages to comply with his directive.

Had there been barangays that failed to submit the lists of drug personalities to PDEA-7, Yogi said he could have asked the Department of Interior of Local Government (DILG-7) to impose administrative sanctions against their officials.

Cebu City barangays were the first target of PDEA-7.

Ruiz said they will now collect the drug lists of barangays in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and move on to towns in Cebu province.

He said he would also welcome barangays from the region to now submit their lists of drug personalities.

Ruiz earlier filed administrative cases against barangay officials of Ermita, Cebu City, who did not cooperate with PDEA-7 officers in a drug raid of a “shabu tiangge” (flea market) located 500 meters from the barangay hall on Nov. 6 last year.

Last January, the Ombudsman-Visayas ordered a six-month preventive suspension of all Barangay Ermita officials in Cebu City.