ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) announced that 81 barangays in Western Mindanao have been declared as drug-free since August, this year.
Drug-free or -cleared barangays refer to areas with no drug personality, drug trafficking, drug den and marijuana plantation and with functional Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC).
PDEA Regional Director Lyndon Aspacio said the declared drug-free barangays are in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, 60; Basilan, 15; Sulu, four; Zamboanga Sibugay, one; and Zamboanga City, one.
Western Mindanao covers the Zamboanga Peninsula provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur as well as Zamboanga City to include Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi that are part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“We congratulate them since they were able to maintain the drug-free status. I hope there will be no resurgence of drug pushers and users in these (cleared) places,” Aspacio told the Philippine News Agency.
He said the regional oversight committee is the body that declares a barangay as drug-free area. It is headed by PDEA with Department of Health and Department of Interior and Local Government as members.
He said it usually takes three to six months to declare a particular barangay as a drug-free area.
Meanwhile, Aspacio said the anti-drug campaign must be a national approach with the involvement of all sectors.
He said the campaign must also start with the family by teaching the children the ill-effects of illegal drugs. (PNA)
