PNP: 11,000 villages cleared of drugs

The police present to media three drug suspects, 31 sachets of shabu and a 1 gun pistol seized during a buy-bust operation. The PNP said Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, that more than 11,000 barangays were cleared of illegal drugs as of Jan. 2019. INQUIRER PHOTO/ JAM STA ROSA

MANILA, Philippines — Over 11,000 villages across the country have been cleared of illegal drugs, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Senior Supt. Bernard Banac said Monday.

Banac told INQUIRER.net that a total of 11,080 villages, or 26.35 percent, of 42,044 villages in the country were cleared of drugs from June 2016 — when the government intensified its war against the illegal trade — until January 2019.

Authorities have yet to clear another 21,974 villages from illegal drug use, he said.

“Yung drug use [at] drug supply sa mga barangay ay na-clear na natin. Ito ay suporta doon sa lumabas na survey ng SWS,” he told reporters, referring to the Social Weather Stations survey that showed 66 percent of Filipinos said they saw fewer drug users in their communities over the past year.

(Drug use and drug supply in these villages have been cleared. This supports the survey released by the SWS.)

READ: SWS: Majority of Filipinos see fewer drug users in their areas

Banac said the survey released on Saturday was not lying, as it gathered testimonies from the public itself.

“Napakahalaga nito dahil ang respondents mismo ang nagsabi. Based sa experience nila. Maaaring family member ‘yung drug user, maaaring kapitbahay or kamag-anak,” he said.

(This is important because the respondents themselves said it based on their experience. It could have been a family member who was a drug user, a neighbor or a relative.)

LOOK: Over 11,000 villages cleared of illegal drugs as of January 2019. (Photo courtesy of PNP spox S/Supt. Bernard Banac) pic.twitter.com/0MQQokYyEI

— Cathrine Gonzales (@cgonzalesINQ) February 18, 2019

“Hindi magsisinungaling ‘yung survey na ‘yan. Naniniwala tayo sa kakayanan at integridad ng survey ng SWS na nagsasabi na bumaba ang paggamit ng ilegal drugs,” he said.

(The survey won’t lie. We believe in the credibility and integrity of the SWS survey that say the use of illegal drugs did went down.) /cbb