PDEA-7: 34 more barangays in CV now drug-cleared 

A total of 34 more barangays in Central Visayas are now considered drug-cleared before the end of the year as a result of the deliberation process on Friday, December 15. | PDEA-7 Regional Office VII FB photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Before the end of the year, a total of 34 more barangays in Central Visayas has been declared drug- cleared by the PDEA-7.

The cleared barangays were endorsed by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC) 7 which conducted a hybrid online and face-to-face deliberation process conducted by authorities on Friday, December 15, 2023, at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Regional Office 7 in Cebu City.

PDEA-7, through a social media post, announced that there are 34 new drug-cleared barangays in Central Visayas.

“Drug-cleared” barangays are those which were previously considered drug-affected barangays because of the presence of drug personalities and drug dens, but have undergone processes to validate their efforts in solving the problem of illegal drugs in their areas.

READ: 100 brgys in Central Visayas now drug-cleared

Out of these barangays, 8 are in Bohol, 13 are from Cebu, 11 are located in Negros Oriential, and 2 are in Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City.

Here is a the list of the 34 new drug-cleared barangays and their municipalities, based on data from PDEA-7:

BOHOL:

1. Barangay Pandol in Corella
2. Barangay Sambog in Corella
3. Barangay Lundag in Anda
4. Barangay Sagnap in Loay
5. Barangay Canmaya Centro in Sagbayan
6. Barangay Anibongan in Sierra Bullones
7. Barangay San Jose in Sierra Bullones
8. Barangay San Juan in Sierra Bullones

CEBU:

1. Barangay Lipayran in Bantayan
2. Barangay Buenavista in Carcar
3. Barangay Guadalupe in Carcar
4. Barangay Pangdan in Naga City
5. Barangay Colon in Naga City
6. Barangay Panlaan in Dumanjug
7. Barangay Tangil in Dumanjug
8. Barangay Mangoto in Pinamungajan
9. Barangay Rizal in Pinamungajan
10. Barangay Poblacion in Daanbantayan
11. Barangay Polo in Alcantara
12. Barangay Tubod in Asturias
13. Barangay Tabili in Catmon

LAPU-LAPU CITY:

1. Barangay Santa Rosa
2. Barangay San Vicente

NEGROS ORIENTAL:

1. Barangay Poblacion in Pamplona
2. Barangay Simborio in Pamplona
3. Barangay Luz in Guihulngan City
4. Barangay Bagtic in La Libertad
5. Barangay Nasunggan in La Libertad
6. Barangay South Poblacion in La Libertad
7. Barangay Lacaon in Jimalalud
8. Barangay Mahanlud in Jimalalud
9. Barangay Mongpong in Jimalalud
10. Barangay Tamao in Jimalalud
11. Barangay Calabnugan in Sibuyan

According to PDEA-7, these barangays were selected after the members of the ROCBDC-7 assessed their documentary requirements to ensure that all the validated drug personalities have been accounted for or given necessary interventions. Another factor that they assessed is whether the local governments’ respective Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) are organized and functional.

PDEA-7 further revealed that of the 3,003 barangays in Central Visayas, 1,668 are now drug-cleared and 116 are drug-free which brings the region’s drug affectation to 40.59 percent.

READ: Cebu City has 7 more drug-cleared barangays

“Drug-free” barangays. on the other hand, are  those areas without the reported presence of any illegal drug users, pushers, or any illegal drug activities.

With the declaration of San Remigio, Cebu as drug-cleared on August 11, 2023, there are also 8 drug-cleared municipalities in the whole region.

The deliberation process was attended by the outgoing PDEA-7 regional director and ROCBDC chairman Director III Jigger Montallana, outgoing PDEA-7 Deputy Regional Director Director II Benjamin Recites III, and Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division (LGMED) Chief Celerino Magto Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7.

Also in attendance were Dr. Jonathan Neil Erasmo of the Department of Health (DOH) 7, Police Major Rey Delos Santos of Police Regional Office 7, and representatives of the local government units.

PDEA-7 added that the drug-clearing of barangays is implemented under the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP). 

READ: PDEA destroys nearly P6B worth of marijuana, ‘shabu’ in Cavite

The BDCP is a holistic anti-illegal drug strategy that aims to reduce drug affectation in the country by taking away drugs, protecting citizens from the lures of illegal drugs, and minimizing the impact of the problem of drugs in the community.

In addition to this, PDEA-7 also announced that they have welcomed a new Regional director, Director III Emerson L. Margate who previously served as the regional director of PDEA-10.  Margate was also PDEA-7’s regional director back in 2017-2018.

The outgoing regional director, will now be the service director of the International Cooperation and Foreign Affairs Service of the PDEA headquarters.

READ: House lauds war on drugs with fewer deaths