The Mandaue City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa (file photo)
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Four more barangays in Mandaue City have been declared drug cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing during the deliberation held on Monday, April 25, 2022.
The four new barangays are Paknaan, Casili, Tabok, and Opao.
Dr. Florentino Longakit, medical officer of the Mandaue City Outpatient Recovery Clinic, said a total of about 400 drug dependents were accounted for by the four barangays.
Longakit said Barangays Paknaan and Tabok had the highest number of accounted drug dependents with over 100 while Opao and Casili had less than 100 drug warriors.
With this development, Mandaue City now has eight drug cleared barangays. Recently, four barangays were declared drug cleared and these are Bakilid, Tawason, Tingub, and Subangdaku.
To be declared a drug cleared barangay, the barangay have to account for all its drug dependents, and drug dependents must able to complete the intervention programs given by them.
Just like the other barangays, they will receive a P500,000 incentive from the city government that will be used to help drug surrenderers for their livelihood.
City Councilor Nerissa Soon Ruiz, focal person of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), said that being a highly urbanized city which was difficult to locate drug surrenderers, she hoped the city could be an inspiration to other cities that they could do it too.
Ruiz attributed the achievement to the barangays, the support of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police, and Mayor Jonas Cortes and the entire city government.
Ruiz said they aimed to have all 27 barangays to be declared drug cleared and become a drug cleared city.
The focal person said the drug warriors were monitored and were regularly undergoing a drug test to make sure that they were not using illegal drugs anymore.
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