CH holds refresher course on Badac

Only 10 out of 80 Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (Badac) in Cebu City have submitted their resolutions containing the names of suspected drug personalities in their area, an official said.

Because of this, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that officials of barangays with inactive Badacs should be replaced through an election.

“That’s why I tell the people that if your barangays are not performing on the war against illegal drugs, ilisan ang kapitan. At the minimum, awareness is important. It’s always the first step,” he told reporters.

To strengthen efforts on the anti-drug campaign, the City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap) held a two-day summit on the activation of Badac.

Garry Lao, Cosap chief, said that the seminar-workshop is a refresher course for the villages.

“Kadaghanan sa atong mga opisyales, with due to respect to other barangays, nakapahibaw sila nga ning-exist ni ang Badac. But the implementation, lacking kaayo,” he said.

The summit, held in the Crown Regency Residential Suites, was attended by barangay officials from all 80 villages.

The Department of Interior Local Government (DILG) Cebu City Office facilitated the seminar.

DILG 7 Director Atty. Rene Burdeos said they will call the attention of village officials who remain lax in activating their anti-drug abuse councils.

“Under the Local Government Code, barangays are mandated to have a Badac. There’s a DILG memorandum circular on that. There are also presidential instructions and regulations from the Dangerous Drugs Board on the Badac to help stop the proliferation of illegal drugs,” he said.

For his part, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 Director III Emerson Margate said he hopes that the activity will help lessen the number of drug-affected barangays in the city. /