16 villages in NoCot town ‘drug-cleared’

COTABATO CITY -- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 12 (Soccsksargen) on Friday made public that 16 out of 24 villages in Kabacan, North Cotabato are “drug-cleared”.

Director of PDEA-12, Naravy Duquiatan, together with Kabacan Mayor Herlo Guzman Jr. and representatives of the police and military, led the program during which village chairpersons of the drug-cleared villages received certificates from the agency.

The drug-cleared

villages are barangays Bangilan, Bannawag, Buluan, Katidtuan, Kilagasan, Malamote, Malanduague, Nangaan, Osias, Upper Paatan, Pisan, Salapungan, Sanggadong, Simbuhay, Simone, and Tamped.

“The evaluation assessment period covered January to June 25 and enough to declare the above-mentioned areas as drug-cleared,” Duquiatan said in a statement.

She said documents were required from village officials before the declaration was made.

Duquiatan said PDEA12 will continue to monitor the 16 villages to ensure that they sustain the government’s anti-drugs campaign.

“If local officials failed to sustain the drive, PDEA may revoke the declaration,” she said.

Guzman, meanwhile, appealed to village chairs of other villages not yet cleared to “do something” in preventing the proliferation of illegal drugs in their communities.