The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Ilocos Region (PDEA-1) announced Monday that a total of 382 villages in Ilocos Norte have been cleared of illegal drugs.
PDEA-1 agent Farlyn Sheen Vinluan said this accounts for 74.42 percent of the total 525 drug-affected barangays in the province.
To date, Vinluan said 143 affected barangays are still in the process of securing documentary requirements before being declared “drug-free,” most of which are in Bangui, Badoc, Pinili, and Paoay.
Vinluan said the provincial oversight committee – composed of the PDEA, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police, the Department of Health, and the local government unit concerned – continues to thoroughly evaluate drug-affected barangays and must comply with all the set requirements before they can be declared as “cleared.”
Once declared as drug-cleared, the names of persons on the list of drug surrenderers will be automatically scrapped.
Each drug surrenderer has to undergo a series of medical tests, including physical and moral recovery enhancement, spiritual health education, psycho-social counseling, and drug education.
Vinluan noted, however, that amid the government’s intensified drug clearing operations, there are still repeat offenders as well as those who are newly identified drug personalities.
Source: Philippines News Agency
