MANILA, Philippines – Three years into the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, only 29 percent of barangays in Metro Manila have been declared cleared of illegal drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Friday.
The PDEA Regional Office – National Capital Region said 496 out of 1,709 Metro Manila barangays have been cleared of the drug menace as of November 2019.
PDEA, however, said it surpassed its target to clear 491 villages from the ills of illegal drugs by December this year.
The figures were consolidated during the meeting of the Regional Oversight Committee on the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program held in Pasay City on Thursday.
The committee is composed of PDEA as the head agency, the Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, and barangay anti-drug abuse councils.
For the month of November, a total of 100 barangays have applied to be declared drug-free by the committee. Of this number, 98 have passed the standards set by the panel.
As mandated by Section 11 of the Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 3 Series of 2017, after conducting drug-clearing operations in the barangays, the oversight committee will then issue the drug-cleared certification of a village that had complied with the required parameters.
The local chief executive or the Anti-Drug Abuse Council chairman will then attest to the certification made by the local chief of police and validated by the PDEA regional director.
National Capital Region Police Office acting director Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas previously cited the “very complex” setup in Metro Manila, making it more challenging for law enforcers to clear the region of drugs compared to other areas.