DavOr declares four drug-free barangays
DAVAO ORIENTAL— A total of four more barangays in the province have officially been declared as drug-cleared communities through the intensified efforts of the Provincial AntiDrug Abuse Council (Padac) and partners from the Philippine National Police and the Municipal and Barangay Local Government Units.
The barangays of Sibahay and San Jose in Boston town, Campawan in Baganga town, and San Antonio in Caraga town, were declared drug-cleared during the Signing and Declaration of Drug-Cleared Barangays last August 1 and 2.
Having accomplished the parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), these barangays are among the second batch of barangays declared as drugcleared following two barangays in Tarragona town. At present, Davao Oriental has six drug-cleared barangays.
A total of 14 drug reformists from Barangay Sibahay, 35 in San Jose, 8 in Campawan, and 17 in San Antonio, have joined the program on the declaration and signing of drug-cleared barangays, vowing their full cooperation to the province’s fight against illegal drugs.
These drug reformists will undergo rehabilitation program initiated by the Provincial Government called Lihok NLD (Nagkakaisang Lingkod-Bayan ng Davao Oriental) which pools programs and resources of concerned government agencies and other stakeholders to provide holistic interventions and assistance for recovering drug dependents. The assistance will be in form of livelihood, trainings, and psychological treatment, among many others, focusing on the aftercare, transformation, and reintegration support.
Padac Action Officer and Provincial Administrator Art Benjie Bulaong said the Provincial Government envisions that through the province’s Lihok NLD, drug reformists can serve as the mouthpiece of the government in its campaign to increase the public’s awareness on the ills of drugs and to entice their peers who are still into drugs to surrender to the authorities.
Ensuring sustainability of the program, these drug reformists, while undertaking Community-Based Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation will be monitored through a random drug testing, said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Action Officer in the province at the same time chair of the Davao Oriental Provincial Oversight Committee, Rey D. Pavillar.
Mayor Arturo Monday, Baganga Madac chair, said that he is eyeing for a sustainable livelihood program. He challenged all reformists and all local stakeholders to maintain their barangay as drug cleared area through an intensified information dissemination campaign on the ill effects of drugs, stressing that the PNP and the PDEA alone cannot do the job without the cooperation of all stakeholders in all levels. RIZA M. GOLEZ