DAGUPAN CITY -- Thirty out of 31 barangays of Dagupan are now drug-cleared with the island barangay of Pugaro finally added to the list on Friday.
Mayor Belen Fernandez and Supt. Franklin Ortiz, chair and vice chair of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC), met with their members on Friday and proceeded in clearing Barangay Pugaro.
Ortiz said Barangay Pugaro was eventually cleared following recommendation from their barangay council that the remaining drug personality in the area, Eric Garcia, could no longer be located as he had transferred to another place.
Because of this, only one barangay in Dagupan remains drug-affected. This is Barangay II & III, which is still subject of police operations.
However, Ortiz expressed confidence that Barangay II & III could be cleared of illegal drugs in a few days.
He said he has no doubt that Dagupan can meet the timeline given by the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office for the whole of Pangasinan to be cleared of illegal drugs on or before the end of December this year.
Ortiz said of the 1,350 confessed drug personalities in Dagupan who surrendered to the police, 60 are now undergoing drug rehabilitation at the Dagupan Treatment and Rehabilitation Center with the cost of their treatment bankrolled by the city government.
The rest are undergoing the barangay-based rehabilitation under the Masa Masid program. (PNA)
