Manila: At least 2,835 villages in Eastern Visayas have been declared drug-cleared after local authorities managed to eradicate drug trade and usage in their communities, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported on Thursday.
According to Philippines News Agency, in a press briefing, PDEA - Eastern Visayas Director Levi Ortiz announced that these villages, which were previously tagged as drug-affected, have met the criteria set by the national government to achieve this status. The drug-cleared villages include 108 in Biliran province, 999 in Leyte, 127 in Tacloban City, 81 in Ormoc City, 463 in Southern Leyte, 405 in Eastern Samar, 277 in Northern Samar, and 375 in Samar province.
A drug-cleared barangay refers to those villages that were once classified as drug-affected but have since undergone a drug-clearing program and were subsequently declared drug-cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing. Director Ortiz emphasized that being drug-cleared does not mean illegal drugs are entirely absent from the community. Rather, it indicates that local authorities are proactive in identifying traders, implementing preventive measures, and sustaining their efforts.
For a village to earn the drug-cleared status, there must be no presence of active drug users, pushers, drug den maintainers, coddler-protectors, financiers, cultivators, or manufacturers. Additionally, criteria include the regular conduct of house visitations and monitoring to identify drug-related individuals and the provision of appropriate interventions for drug users and pushers.
The Eastern Visayas region comprises 4,365 villages, with 2,835 tagged as drug-cleared, 101 affected, two unaffected, and 1,427 classified as drug-free. Despite these successes, PDEA has not set a timeline to clear all villages in the region, acknowledging the challenges posed by several coastal areas that serve as possible entry points for illegal drug shipments.
