Over half of 3K villages in C. Visayas cleared of drugs

CEBU CITY – More than half of the 3,003 barangays in Central Visayas have been cleared of illegal drugs, the regional anti-narcotics agency said Friday.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Central Visayas data showed that 1,634 or 54.4 percent of the total number of barangays have been declared as drug-clear barangays by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC).

Cebu province has the highest number of drug-cleared barangays with 643 or 60.3 percent of the 1,066 villages, followed by Bohol with a record of 57.9 percent or 642 out of 1,109 barangays.

Negros Oriental has 557 barangays and 197 have been cleared while Siquijor’s 107 are listed as drug-cleared out of 134 villages.

Of the three highly-urbanized cities in Cebu province, Mandaue City registered the highest number of drug-cleared barangays as it has 13 out of 27 followed by Cebu City with 25 out of 80 villages, with Lapu-Lapu City having the lowest number with only six out of 30 villages.

The region has 41.7 percent drug affection, with Negros Oriental having the highest number at 307 or 55.12 percent of 557 barangays.

The data also showed that there are a total of 116 barangays in the region already declared drug-free.

Jigger Montallana, regional director of PDEA-7, said the latest data came after 42 barangays and a municipality in the region were declared by the ROCBDC as drug-cleared.

“On August 11, 2023, members of (ROCBDC-7) convened during a blended activity to deliberate on the application of a total of 42 barangays and one municipality that applied for the drug-cleared status,” a statement from PDEA-7 said.

Of the 42 villages, 25 were from Cebu, 11 from Bohol, three from Cebu City, and three from Mandaue City.

Drug-cleared barangay refers to a village that was previously classified as a drug affected and underwent the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP) and was declared as drug-cleared by the ROCBDC while drug-free barangay refers to an unaffected barangay that has been vetted and confirmed by ROCBDC. (PNA)