GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The city’s 26 barangays have passed the assessment of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 12 (Soccsksargen) for the functionality of the Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs).
Naravy Duquiatan, PDEA-12 director, said Wednesday they found all Barangay ADACs in the area to be functional and have active anti-drug programs, as well as related support mechanisms.
Duquiatan credited the city government, especially Mayor Ronnel Rivera, for continuously supporting the operations and activities of the BADACs.
“We’re very thankful for that support since we also have limited funds and manpower,” she said in a radio interview.
Duquiatan said the assessment was part of the ongoing performance audit of barangays in the entire Soccsksargen.
She said the audit, which is spearheaded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 12, covers all programs, projects and activities of the barangay councils.
PDEA-12 was specifically tasked to assess the performance and functionality of the barangays in terms of the anti-drug campaign, she said.
“This is a holistic approach. We’re determining whether our barangays are really performing and have active (anti-drug) programs,” the official said.
Duquiatan said the barangays are assessed based on their functionality and performance levels through corresponding ratings of one to five.
She said those who receive the highest rating of five should have complete documents and fully functional programs while the lowest rating of one signifies poor performance.
“Officials of the barangays who receive the lowest rating could later face possible charges for not doing their mandates,” she said, citing an advisory from the PDEA central office.
Depending on the assessment level, she said poor-performing barangays may be given a grace period to comply with the required initiatives.
Aside from the performance audits, Duquiatan said they are continuously monitoring barangay officials in the region for possible involvement in drug-related activities.
She said they have received some reports, which are still subject to validation with their counterpart law enforcement agencies, especially the Philippine National Police.
Duquiatan did not disclose the details of the validation, which are considered confidential.
