MANILA — As part of the continuing campaign against illegal drugs and capacity enhancement for the regional offices, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) conducted an intensive re-orientation of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP).
In a statement Thursday, PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino said the training held last July 19 at the Mansion Hotel in Iloilo City was attended by the PDEA regional directors, chiefs of operations, regional intelligence officers, and designated barangay drug clearing officers.
He said the training aimed to develop the capabilities of the PDEA duty bearers in the implementation of the concept, framework, processes, and requirements of the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP). This also served to further enhance their deeper understanding of the BDCP in order to come up with precise and specific outputs.
“Trainings such as this is a good venue for our PDEA officers to intelligently discuss not just the subject at hand, but also pertinent matters arising from the discussions wherein the primary mandate of PDEA shall be prioritized. This also served as our reference to operational compliance with our partners in law enforcement as we anticipate a clear and viable output in the future,” Aquino said.
The Barangay Drug Clearing Program was designed to provide a more effective and efficient measure towards preventing and eradicating illegal drug abuse based on Dangerous Drugs Board Regulations No. 3, Series of 2017 (Strengthening the Implementation of Barangay Drug Clearing Program).
PDEA commits to clear the 24,424 drug affected barangays which is 58.10 percent of the total number of 42,036 barangays nationwide.
As of June 30, there are 8,057 barangays that were already declared as drug-cleared.
Earlier, Aquino said that for 2018, PDEA aims to clear 7,328 barangays from illegal drugs, or a projected average of 617 barangays per month.
He noted the lead agency against illegal drugs aims to clear 24,424 barangays from illegal drugs by 2022.
Before declaring that a barangay is free from illegal drug activities, the committee must convene and validate the non-availability of drug supply in the area and the absence of drug transit activity, clandestine drug laboratory and chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site, drug den, drug pushers and users.
“Once cleared, we must ensure that drug-free barangays will maintain their status. All our efforts will go to waste if we allow the resurgence of illegal drug activities in these areas,” Aquino said.
“To accelerate efforts against the proliferation of illegal drugs in drug-affected barangays, the government has adopted an integrated approach in securing the assistance of the local government units in drug-clearing operations,” the PDEA chief added. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
