BUSTED. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mangaldan Police Station conduct a buy-bust in the Pangasinan town in this 2021 file photo. PDEA said 1,157 of 1,272 villages in the province are drug-cleared as of Dec. 29, 2023 but it is not yet certain if they are totally free of illegal drug activities. (File photo courtesy of PDEA-Pangasinan)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Drug symposiums in communities and promotion of drug-free workplaces will continue for Pangasinan to achieve full drug-free status, the head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here said over the weekend.
In a phone interview, PDEA-Pangasinan Director Retchie Camacho said 1,157 or 92 percent of 1,272 drug-affected villages in Pangasinan are already drug-cleared as of Dec. 29.
He clarified, however, that drug-cleared status does not mean total eradication of illegal drug activities, hence continuous anti-illegal drug activities by law enforcement authorities and the local government units (LGUs).
Before declaring that a barangay is free from illegal drug activities, it must be validated that there is non-availability of drug supply in the area and the absence of drug transit activity, clandestine drug laboratory and chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site, drug den and drug pusher and user, according to PDEA guidelines.
He said the status could also be reverted if the village fails to comply or address a reported drug personality or activity in its area of jurisdiction.
“The Regional Office will issue a memo to the barangay or the LGU and they should respond or take action within 30 days, either to provide intervention through rehab or file a case against the drug personality,” he said.
This year, PDEA Pangasinan confiscated a total of PHP3.6 million worth of illegal drugs (shabu and marijuana) and arrested 54 high-value targets in seven high-impact operations.
There are now 30 drug-cleared municipalities out of the 43 drug affected and one out of the four drug-affected cities.
Camacho said demand reduction and law enforcement activities will continue to ensure the elimination of the drug problem, noting that villages that are still not drug-cleared are those that have drug personalities who have not surrendered or were identified by authorities since 2016.
“They are in need of proper intervention -- either they will undergo rehabilitation or they will be arrested,” he said, citing the importance of the Balay Silangan reformation facility.
Camacho said eight municipalities have signed a memorandum of agreement with the provincial government for the use of the provincial reformation facility in Burgos town, which was inaugurated on Dec. 7 and is the first provincial reformation facility in the Ilocos Region.
“This will be a huge help to the municipalities that have no Balay Silangan and are still drug-affected. They have been waiting for this for so long. Their clients or the street-level pushers will be enrolled at the Balay Silangan as this would pave the way to clear those affected barangays from drugs,” he said.
The municipalities that have signed the MOA are Bani, Burgos, Binalonan, Dasol, Infanta, San Jacinto, San Nicolas and Sual.
The Balay Silangan community program, launched in 2018, builds temporary shelters for drug offenders with the objective of reforming them into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.
“The program is reformatory in nature. It is an alternative intervention for drug personalities who are not users and are not eligible to undergo medical treatment and rehabilitation in facilities supervised by the Department of Health," the PDEA said then. (PNA)
