INTENSIFIED CAMPAIGN. Lt. Col. Norby Escobar, Antique Provincial Police Office deputy director for operations, is confident the province of Antique will become a drug-cleared province within 2019. He said policemen will continue their drug-clearing operations in support of Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte's intensified campaign against illegal drugs. (PNA Photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique -- The province of Antique is expected to become an illegal drug-cleared province within this year with the continuous operations being conducted by the Antique Provincial Police Office (APPO) in support of the intensified anti-illegal drugs campaign of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
APPO Deputy Director for Operations Lt. Col. Norby Escobar said in an interview on Thursday that per report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which is the lead agency in the anti-drugs operation, 94 percent of the barangays in the province are now drug-cleared.
“PDEA reported that 94 percent or 557 barangays in Antique are now drug-cleared,” he said.
The province of Antique has a total 590 barangays comprising 18 municipalities.
“There are 292 drug-affected barangays and 265 unaffected-barangays that had been cleared,” he said.
He said that even if the unaffected barangays were cleared the PDEA and the police has to confirm that indeed no illegal drugs proliferate in their areas.
“I surmise we could clear all the remaining barangays before the end of December this year,” he said.
As per the APPO report from January to June this year, they have already conducted 21 anti-drug operations with 23 persons arrested and their cases are now filed in the courts.
Meanwhile, Escobar appealed for support from new local chief executives (LCEs) so the goal for the province to become drug-cleared could be attained.
“I am urging the new local chief executives to do their roles in making Antique drug-free and a safe place to live in,” he said.
He said that Pres. Duterte himself has given his order to the LCEs to do their respective roles in addressing the illegal drug problem in the country. (PNA)
