CLEARED. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Pangasinan provincial officer Dexter Asayco (second from right) hands over the certificate of drug-cleared status to Barangay Calombuyan chairman Eddie Amor (third from left) on March 8, 2021. Calombuyan is among the 1,039 drug-cleared barangays in the province. (Photo courtesy of Sual Public Information Office Facebook page)
SUAL, Pangasinan – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has declared Barangay Calombuyan in this town as drug-cleared.
In an interview on Tuesday, PDEA-Pangasinan assistant provincial director Rechie Camacho said the barangay has passed the assessment and validation of the Regional Oversight Committee.
"The barangay was one of the villages in the province deliberated on Dec.16 last year but the certification was only awarded on Monday," he said.
However, Camacho urged the barangay to continue fighting against illegal drugs despite the drug-cleared status.
The local government unit of Sual town said it has a plan to build a Bahay Silangan that will serve as a home for drug offenders while undergoing a reformation program.
“Barangay chairman Eddie Amor assured that they would continue doing their mandates in order to preserve the drug-cleared status of Barangay Calombuyan,” the statement said.
PDEA Pangasinan barangay drug clearing officer Mary Jean Botes said the barangay may only be declared drug-cleared after qualifying for the criteria, such as undertaking intervention programs against illegal drugs, the negative results of listed drug users in the area, and graduation of individuals who were under the community-based drug rehabilitation program.
“However, the drug-cleared status of a barangay or town may be reverted if a new drug personality will be identified in the area and no actions were done by the officials within three days,” she said in a recent interview.
As of this posting, 1,039 out of the 1,272 drug-affected barangays in the province of Pangasinan were declared drug-cleared. (PNA)
