AWARDING. Officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Pangasinan and the municipality of Agno pose for a photo after the ceremony for the drug-cleared status certification on Thursday (Jan.18, 2024) held at the gymnasium in Barangay Poblacion in Agno town. The PDEA has been strengthening its anti- illegal drugs campaign by working closely with village officials. (Photo courtesy of PDEA Pangasinan)
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The towns of Agno and Bautista have been added to the list of Pangasinan municipalities that have been issued drug-cleared certification by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
PDEA-Pangasinan Director Retchie Camacho, in a phone interview on Thursday, said 32 of the 44 municipalities in the province have been cleared of illegal drugs, urging officials of these towns to remain vigilant and continue the fight against proliferation of illegal drugs in their areas.
The PDEA awarded the drug-cleared status certification to the municipality of Agno on Thursday while that of the Bautista town was awarded on Jan. 16.
With the cooperation of the local governments, PDEA will focus on supply and demand-reduction activities in the villages or the grassroots level, Camacho added.
In a separate interview, Agno police chief, Capt. Esteban Fernandez III, said the town’s municipal and barangay anti-drug abuse councils and the police are working together to ensure the sustainability of their drug-cleared status.
Agno is the second town of the province to be declared drug-cleared in 2019 but the status was reverted when one of its 17 villages was identified as drug-affected based on the list of former President Rodrigo Duterte, he said.
Four drug personalities had been identified at that time and these have undergone rehabilitation at the Balay Silangan in Agoo, La Union, he added.
Fernandez said the anti-drug abuse councils have laid out plans to sustain the drug-cleared status of the municipality through the “drug-free workplace” program.
“All of the municipal government employees and barangay officials have undergone drug tests and all tested negative. The next time an annual random testing will be conducted that would involve the barangay workers like the barangay health workers, Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams, and others,” he said.
Town officials are set to sign a memorandum of agreement with officials of the Provincial Balay Silangan Reformation Center in Burgos town once there is a need for the rehabilitation of drug personalities or street-level pushers, he added. (PNA)
