Police Brigadier General Roque Eduardo Vega, PRO-7 director, attends the kickoff ceremony for the recognition of Barangay Bakilid in Mandaue City as the city’s first drug-cleared barangay on Monday, October 11, 2021. | Mae Fhel Gom-os
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — The Mandaue City government is set to give P500,000 incentive to the barangays with drug-cleared status.
Mayor Jonas Cortes made the statement following the kickoff ceremony for the recognition of Barangay Bakilid as the city’s first drug-cleared barangay on Monday, October 11, 2021.
The ceremony was attended by PRO-7 Director Roque Eduardo Vega, the city council, representatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), and other concerned individuals.
Cortes said the incentive would be used by drug-cleared barangays for their programs and activities pertinent to issues on drugs.
It can be recalled that Barangay Bakilid was among those, who were given the drug-cleared status by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC) in September.
READ: PDEA: 33 Central Visayas villages now drug-cleared, 2 others drug-free
The mayor is hoping that the effort of Barangay Bakilid will set as an example to the rest of the barangays in the city.
“This has been a perennial problem nga angay natong tabangan and we’re very fortunate nga multi sectoral approach ang gibuhat through the different sectors, from religious to the barangays,” said Cortes, as he emphasized the meaning of #IamMandaue, wherein there is a need to inculcate in the minds that everyone is part of the problem and solution.
(This has been a perennial problem that we need to solve together and we’re very fortunate that this is a multi-sectoral approach through the different sectors from religious to the barangays.)
“Kahibalo ta unsa ka dako ang problema bahin sa drugas, unya dili ni mahimo nga mag-iyahay ta nga ang barangay naa silay ilahang programa ang siyudad naa, we need to have a concerted effort nga nalipay kog dako from PNP PDEA, city, and barangay level na nagkahiusa sa maong programa to address the issues about drug problems,” he added.
(I know that this is a problem, regarding drugs and we cannot solve this if each barangay will go at it alone — they have a solution, the city has a solution, We need to have a concerted effort and I am happy that the PNP, PDEA, city and barangay level worked together for that program to address the issues about drug problems.)
In his speech, Vega also thanked the all the concerned agencies, local officials, personnel, and individuals for their efforts to maintain and strengthen its measures to prevent the entry and proliferation of illegal drugs in the barangay.
City Councilor Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz, who is also the focal person of the Mandaue City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), said that Barangays Subangdaku and Tawason might be also given the same status with Barangay Bakilid next year.
Ruiz said the city council had already allotted P500,000 each for the three barangays, which will be taken from CADAC.
The councilor also said that she already filed an ordinance allotting at least P2 million from the general funds, for the future drug-cleared barangays.
She said that this was also their way of acknowledging the efforts of the barangays to look for the drug warriors amid the large population.
Ruiz further stressed that such incentive would be used primarily for the after care, and it might be on the livelihood programs of the barangay.
“Livelihood kay kahibawo man ta nga ang migamit sa drugas maglisod na sila og sulod sa trabaho kay dunay gamayng discrimination. So hatagan sila’g panginabuhi or pang-eskwela sa ilang mga anak… We want them back sa streaming sa society,” she said.
(Livelihood because we know that those who used drugs would find it difficult to get jobs because there is a bit of discrimination. So, we will provide them with a livelihood or tuition for their children…We want them back streaming in society.)
Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede, for his part, said that the incentives would be their motivation to strive for a drug clear status.
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