ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here has warned that charges will be filed against village officials who are not supportive of the agency’s barangay drug clearing program.
Jury Rocamora, PDEA-Zamboanga City officer, said Friday a number of barangay officials are hesitant to implement the drug-clearing procedure. He did not name names.
“We will file charges against those not keen to carry out the process or else we will be the one who will be charged for not doing our mandate,” Rocamora said.
Erring officials, he said, are liable to certain provisions of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Administrative charges, meanwhile, will be handled by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, he said.
Of this city’s 98 barangays, 17 are declared drug cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug-Clearing (ROCBDC).
Before declaring a barangay free from illegal drug activities, the ROCBDC must validate the non-availability of drug supply in the area and the absence of drug transit activity.
A barangay must also have no clandestine drug laboratory, chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site, drug den, drug pusher, and user.
Rocamora said they have high hopes that Mayor John Dalipe will take the lead in the war against illegal drugs here, noting that Dalipe was a member of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs when he was a city councilor. (PNA)
