Illegal drug users found in 30% of villages declared ‘drug cleared’

Alain Joseph Aliño, a recovering drug addict, talks before members of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) during a meeting on how to go about the successful rehabilitation of drug surrenderers. After years of drug abuse, Aliño is now an active anti-drug crusader appealing to drug users through churches and civic organizations.
CDN FILE PHOTO

Barely a week after 120 barangays in the province were declared drug-cleared, about 30 percent of them now have to come up with intervention measures after several of their drug surrenderers were again found to be using illegal drugs.

The so-called surrenderers were found positive for illegal drug use in surprise drug tests conducted last week.

The barangays declared “drug cleared” but now found to still have illegal drug users were given 30 days to come up with measures or else lose their drug-cleared status.

“What happened was that when we did the drug-testing in most of the 120 barangays, several tested positive,” said Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) head Ivy Durano-Meca in Cebuano.

Under Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) guidelines, a barangay has to comply with 14 parameters, including the absence of drug users, pushers and illegal drug laboratories in their area before it can be declared as drug-cleared.

After being declared drug-cleared, the barangays will be continually monitored to check if they have maintained compliance with the 14 parameters.

In case one of the 14 parameters is breached, the barangay will be given 30 days to conduct intervention measures as provided for by the DDB, which include house visitation and enrollment of the surrenderer in the community-based treatment program.

“What will happen is that the barangays will be given a notice from the chairman of the oversight committee, which is PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), naming all those surrenderers that turned out positive. They will be given 30 days to act on it for an intervention,” said Meca.

On top of possibly being stripped of their drug-cleared status, Meca said barangay officials concerned would also face sanctions if they fail to address the recurrence of surrenderers who tested positive in these drug-cleared barangays, including the filing of administrative cases against them.

Meca said that while the drug-cleared barangays had successfully eliminated the source of illegal drugs in their areas, their next challenge is to sustain their drug-cleared status. Meca added that another challenge for CPADAO was the involvement of some barangay officials in the illegal drug trade.

“There are really barangay officials that are involved in the drug trade. Especially right now that we are in the drug-clearing operation, it is a big challenge for CPADAO and for the rest of the members of the oversight committee,” she said.

The oversight committee is composed of representatives from PDEA, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), the Department of Health, and CPADAO.