COTABATO CITY — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM) has declared 13 more villages as “drug-free barangays” in the nearby province of Maguindanao.
The declaration brought to a total of 159 barangays declared as drug-free since last year out of the more than 300 identified drug-affected villages.
Juvenal Azurin, PDEA-ARMM director, on Tuesday said that six of the 13 declared drug-free barangays were in Parang town, four in Barira and three in Pagalungan.
Azurin explained that there are three processes in declaring a barangay drug-free as those identified as slightly affected, moderately affected and seriously affected village.
Slightly affected means the village has at least one drug user; moderately affected has at least one user and one pusher; and, seriously affected has the presence of clandestine drug laboratories, drug dens and marijuana plantations.
“We easily clear villages under slightly affected categories but take some time in dealing with moderately and seriously affected areas due to many considerations with the help of Barangay Anti-Drug Advisory Council,” he said.
“Our main objective is to clear all villages in Maguindanao to help meet President Duterte’s vision of a drug free Philippines by 2021,” Azurin said.
The PDEA-ARMM eyed to clear 150 barangays across the region from illegal drug activities.
The province of Maguindanao has 508 villages with more than 300 listed as drug-affected barangays.
Three of the 36 towns in Maguindanao have been cleared of illegal drug activities. These are Kabuntalan, Paglat, and Mangudadatu. (PNA)
