3,500 barangays declared drug-free

At least 3,500 barangays or 8.4 percent of the total number of villages in the country have been declared drugfree, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said over the weekend.

The agency said 3,534 of the 42,036 barangays nationwide were cleared of drugs as of Aug. 31.

The report was posted in the government’s #RealNumbersPH monthly update issued on Sept. 29.

The declaration was made after the issuance of a certification by members of the barangay drug-clearing program oversight committee chaired by the PDEA and composed of provincial representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police, Department of Health and local government units as members.

The committee validates the absence of drugs, shabu laboratories, drug dens, traffickers and users, and other factors before declaring a barangay drug-free.

In the same report, the PDEA said 3,906 drug suspects have been killed and 113,932 others arrested in 76,863 law enforcement operations nationwide.

Among those arrested were 398 government personnel including 175 elected officials, 188 employees and 35 men in uniform.

Authorities have seized P18.84 billion worth of illegal drugs, chemicals and laboratory equipment.

A total of 163 drug dens and nine shabu laboratories were dismantled, the report said.