MANILA -- Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday called for the activation of the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) in all barangays nationwide to guard the country's shoreline and prevent the entry of illegal drugs.
Sotto made the call after President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that a Colombian drug cartel is now operating in the country as floating cocaine bricks were recovered from the local shores.
"That problem has been there for a long time and that is why I created the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council in RA (Republic Act) 9165 precisely because our shoreline is longer than the USA shoreline yet our Coast Guard is not as equipped as theirs," Sotto told reporters in a text message.
"But there is a barangay in every island, therefore, activating the BADAC would greatly help. The previous admin did not activate it," he added.
BADAC is the grassroots program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government aimed at organizing barangay officials and other stakeholders as first line of defense at countering drug-related crimes in barangays.
Sotto said he would also appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to activate the BADACs, noting that only a few barangays have operationalized the council to carry out the anti-illegal drugs campaign in the community level.
"DILG was saying they were activating some time ago but very few follow. In fact, the more important ones covering the islands are not activated," Sotto said.
The BADAC is composed of the Punong Barangay as chairperson, and the sangguniang barangay member who is the chair of the peace and order committee as vice chairperson.
Its members include the sangguniang barangay member who is the chair of the committee on women and family; Sangguniang Kabataan chair; public school principal or his or her representative; executive officer or chief tanod; and one representative each from a faith-based organization or a non-government organization.
Serving as BADAC adviser would be the city or municipal chief of police or his representative. (PNA)
