Cebu and its drug-free barangays

RAMIREZ

In the fierce fight against illegal drugs, which I am fully supporting except for the killing of suspects, the declaration of barangays and local government units (LGU) as drug-free is a needed respite from the harsh reality of the effects of illegal drug use in our community.

Who would not be ecstatic to learn that despite the enormous problem of illegal drugs in the province, there are several barangays that we can say have already been freed from the problem based on the standard set by certain government agencies?

However, how can one reconcile the latest pronouncement of President Rodrigo R. Duterte that Cebu is a drug hot spot with the declaration of 40 barangays in Bogo City as drug-free?

I am not questioning the agencies that made the declaration, to include the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the provincial government, but the two separate incidents have created doubts and disbelief between each other.

Before a barangay is declared drug-free, it has to pass the 14 parameters which include among others the absence of drug pushers and drug users in the barangay.

This is a case of a pronouncement coming from the most powerful government official that diluted the credibility and the viability of an accreditation scheme to lessen the drug problem in the community implemented by government instrumentalities.

If the declaration of the 40 barangays as drug-free is the needed breather in the campaign against illegal drugs, how can anyone be sure that there are no more drug users and pushers in these barangays when greyhound operations in any jail facility in the province continue to yield illegal drugs?

A jail facility is no comparison to any barangay in the province in terms of security because a jail is supposed to be fully guarded and the movement of the inmates closely monitored, while a barangay is loose in terms of movement and security.

However, the probability of drug activities in any barangays in the province is higher than in any jail facility, yet authorities would want us to believe that they have successfully cleaned some barangays just by mere declaration?

Again, if the purpose of the declaration of drug-free barangay is to communicate the message that the government’s campaign against illegal drugs is successful, the President blemished the campaign that resulted in a public relations campaign gone awry.

Although President Duterte did not present any facts that led him to conclude that Cebu is a drug hot spot, the statement is one coming from the President and has not even been refuted by any government agency tasked to solve the drug menace.

Even without the declaration of drug-free barangays, in the light of Duterte’s statement that Cebu is a drug hot spot, I can still give the PDEA and the police a passing scorecard due to the number of successful arrests and confiscation of illegal drugs that their offices have achieved.

Authorities in Central Visayas recorded P400 million illegal drug hauls; 9,000 drug suspects arrested; and 400 others killed since July 1, 2016, and majority of these were in Cebu.

I wanted to know how the organizers of the drug-free barangays determined that there are no drug users in these barangays.

I also have not heard that all the residents in these barangays were subjected to a drug test, which for me is the only effective way to prove the assertion.

Again, if the declaration is meant to enhance public perception of government’s efforts to fight the illegal drugs menace, it was diluted with the President’s statement.

This makes for an unfortunate clash between these government agencies and the credibility of the President’s statement.

They should have changed course following the President’s statement tagging Cebu as a drug hot spot because it would make their efforts in declaring drug-free barangays questionable in the eyes of the public.

Who would have argued with the President whose cuss talks are considered gospel truth by his 16 million–strong followers?