17,000 villages drug-free: PNP

MANILA -- A total of 17,816 barangays or 38% out of the 42,045 barangays (villages) in the country have been declared drugcleared, a ranking police official said on Monday.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Philippine National Police deputy chief for Operations, said that before the Duterte administration, the total number of drug-infected barangays was 33,869 which represent 81% of the total 42,045 barangays of the Philippines.

“After 43 months, a total of 17,816 barangays were cleared which brought down the infected barangays from 81% to 38%,” Eleazar said.

He attributed the big decrease in the barangays affected by illegal drugs to the aggressive campaign launched in 2016.

Eleazar said police are working double-time to clear the remaining barangays from illegal drugs.

He bared the barangays were cleared in Bataan and Aurora, two provinces that were officially declared as drug-free in a ceremony

Saturday. The good practices employed by the government’s anti-narcotics agents will be replicated in other areas still affected by illegal drugs, he said. Eleazar also said at least eight provinces were cleared of illegal drugs. Aside from Bataan and Aurora, also cleared were Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Island, Surigao del Sur, Mountain Province, Quirino, and Biliran. “If there will be a resurgence of drug activities in their areas and no appropriate interventions were done in a month’s time, their status might be reverted to affected communities,” Eleazar said. Eleazar said that the posi