Caohagan Barangay Captain Ranilo Abayan urges his constituents to remain cooperative in their measures to prevent illegal drug proliferation in the island village. CDN Digital photo | Rosalie Abatayo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — Barangay Caohagan, an island village of Lapu-Lapu City, is en route to being the city’s first “drug free” village.
On Wednesday, August 14, 2019, city officials along with officials from the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) visited the island for the launching of the revitalization of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Badac).
This is in preparation for the declaration of Barangay Caohagan as a drug free village.
With a land area of around two hectares, Caohagan Island is home to 680 individuals.
Garry Lao, executive director of the City of Lapu-Lapu Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (CLOSAP), said they plan to submit the pertinent documents on the declaration of the drug clearing to the regional oversight committee in September.
The oversight comittee, which reviews and approves the documents of an area that seek to be drug cleared, is composed of representatives from PDEA-7, DOH, DILG and the Philippine National Police.
Among the requirement for a barangay to be drug cleared are the absence of any drug personality inhabiting the place and presence and activation of its anti-drug abuse council.
Caohagan Barangay Captain Ranilo Abayan said it is the collaborative effort of the community that has helped “evade the penetration of illegal drugs.
“Ang amo diri katulo sa usa ka seman mag-conduct mi og house-to-house visit sa among mga kaisigbarangay. Makigstorya pod mi sa mga istudyante labot sa epekto ug paglikay sa drugas,” Abayan told CDN Digital.
(We conduct a house-to-house visit thrice a week and talk with the youth on the ill effects of drugs and house to prevent them.)
While tourism is their main source of livelihood, Abayan said they also initiate measures to ensure that illegal drugs are not brought into their island village through strict monitoring.
Lao said their direction to declare Caohagan as a drug free barangay is yet one of their steps to step up their campaign against illegal drug proliferation. /bmjo