Baguio’s drug-affected b’gays down to six

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – From 17 in 2016, the number of drug-affected barangays in Baguio City dropped to six this year, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Cordillera said over the weekend.

The city police last year declared all 128 barangays as drug-affected, but the PDEAregional oversight committee said only 17 villages were affected by illegal drugs.

The PDEA committee recently declared 11 barangays – Campo Filipino, Dontogan, Ferdinand, GEFA/Lower Quirino-Magsaysay, Honeymoon, Pacdal, Padre Zamora, Pinsao Pilot Project, Quezon Hill Proper, Trancoville and Upper Rock Quarry – drugfree.

The committee also downgraded the status of Barangays Tacadang and Badeo, both in Kibungan town, from “seriously affected to moderately affected.”

The anti-drug agency said that although the number of Baguio City’s drug-affected barangays has dropped, it monitored a resurgence of illegal drug activity in the Cordilleras.

The PDEA said it notified officials of 66 barangays in the region about the resurgence of the illegal drug activity in their jurisdictions.

Failure of village officials to act on the matter within 30 days from receipt of the PDEA notice will be a ground to declare their villages as drug-affected, PDEA-Cordillera director Edgar Apalla said.