160 brgys hailed drug-free in 2017

Since July, the number of drug-free barangays in Cebu Province remains at 160 while 25 more are still awaiting confirmation of their drug-free status from the oversight committee.

According to the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO), new drug-free barangays may be declared next year after the conclusion of the evaluation conducted by the oversight committee, primarily composed of representatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Department of Health (DOH).

CPADAO Chief Ivy Durano-Meca said all drug-free barangays are supervised to ensure that they can sustain their status. At present, no drug-free barangay in the province is under surveillance for the possible revocation of its drug-free status.

While all the Barangay, Municipal or City Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADAC, MADAC, CADAC) in the province have been activated, not all are functional. Strengthening and ensuring the active status of the councils will be one of the thrusts of CPADAO for next year.

In fact, the top performing anti-drug abuse councils were recognized in November and were given cash incentives to motivate the other councils to be participative in the war on drugs.

These are Liloan town for best MADAC and Naga City for the best CADAC.

This year, Bogo City also became the first city in Central Visayas to have all its barangays declared drug-free.

On a related note, Meca said that a little more than ten people out of the 8,000 government employees who underwent random drug testing were found positive for illegal drug use. For those tested this December alone, no one was found positive for illegal drug use.

The recent random drug tests were conducted in local government offices in Minglanilla, Naga City, Bogo District Hospital, and Tuburan District Hospital.

Meca also revealed that most of those who tested positive were male job order (JO) employees.

If found positive for drug use, a JO will automatically be dismissed from service.

In 2018, the CPADAO targets to strengthen efforts in combating illegal drugs. To actualize this, the Provincial Board approved a P32 million budget for this office. It is P10 million higher than that of this year.

Meca said that the office will purchase a new vehicle which will be used by their field officers in conducting drug tests across the province.